Soulborn: Sable Foil
by Last Seraph
Summary: After Aizen's defeat, a powerless Ichigo Kurosaki embarks on a well deserved vacation to the island of O'ahu. There, he's thrust towards a strange new world, where he'll discover that there's much more out there than just hollows, humans, and shinigami.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.

I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.

Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.

This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

_A Bleach & Rosario + Vampire Crossover_

Soulborn_  
_

Part 1: **Sable Foil**

* * *

_For the avenging angel who dies alone_

_I pray_

_For shadow's stare of parts unknown_

_Tis thee I waylay_

_

* * *

_

The worst of it was the smoke. Everywhere around the fiery-haired boy was that omnipresent cloud of suffocation, stifling his lungs with a burning pain that was quickly becoming too familiar. Slowly, Ichigo trudged down the darkened dormitory hall, despite the growing urge to gag and cough. He knew that if he didn't find that one particular blue haired girl still trapped inside, and quickly, the growing blaze would claim both their lives.

"_Damn it, why didn't I pay attention to that stupid succubus when she tried to tell me her dorm number!" _Ichigo thought, chastising himself for ignoring the past flirtations of the blue haired beauty. While he felt it was sensible at the time to not listen to her advancements and get on with his day, knowing precisely where she lived would have been a helpful thing to know when trying to save her from a burning building.

It was an act of willing ignorance that the now powerless shinigami was becoming all too aware might be his own downfall.

"Can you hear me, Kurumu!" Ichigo shouted, his muffled voice barely carrying over the sound of smoldering mortar, wood, and stone.

"Ichigo...?" A voice answered, from beyond a nearby door to his left, barely audible behind the droning noise of dancing flames.

"Hang on, I'm coming to get you out!" Ichigo yelled back, just barely holding his body back from a violent fit of coughs it so desperately desired to partake in. Relying on his ears more than his eyes to guide him, the orange haired boy hobbled down the hallway to where he'd heard the voice, past a locked doorway marked 309a.

Swearing, the substitute shinigami decided on a different course of action. In a surge of motion, he lunged forward and planted his foot squarely on the door, just next to the knob. Obediently, the scorched portal gave way to the force of the blow, granting access to a demanding young warrior who was in no mood to wait. It was therein that he found her, tied roughly in simple ropes to a chair, with a single note attached that Ichigo immediately recognized as a magic power seal.

"Ichigo!" Kurumu called back in a hoarse voice, her bruised face caked in soot, and stained with dried tears. Wasting no time, her rescuer paced towards the trapped girl and started working to untie her. "It was so awful, I never saw him coming. He threatened to kill me if I screamed... he hit me so hard! I tried to fight him, I tried so hard..."

"It's okay now, I promise," Ichigo replied softly, struggling with the unyielding magic ropes. As if to demur his claim, a sudden tremor rocked the building. Sprawling prone on the floor, Ichigo barely saw it as a support beam crashed down through the ceiling where he'd just been in the hallway, through the floor below in a tidal wave of embers, ash, and sound. Slowly, the human rose to his feet. They were running out of time, and there was only one surefire way to get out left.

"Hold on, Kurumu, we're jumping," Ichigo said grimly, grabbing hold of the succubus, chair and all, and hoisting her up into his arms.

"But Ichigo, we're on the third floor, you can't!" She cried in protest, her voice barely above a whisper, "without your powers, you'll-"

"Don't worry," Ichigo said, his expression hardened in a veil of grim determination as he crossed over towards her bedroom window and unceremoniously kicked it open, "I'll be fine."

Thus, with his eyes closed tight, Ichigo leaped from the third story window, with nothing to catch his fall below except the cold, hard ground.

* * *

**Prologue**: A Stage Set in the Setting Sun.

* * *

Three months have passed since the events that made 'Ichigo Kurosaki' a name that would go down in the history of Soul Society as one of it's greatest martyrs. It was then, in that eleventh hour when hope seemed lost, that his might finally stopped the traitor Sosuke Aizen. That moment of triumph was not without its price, however, as the ultimate victory that saved the Soul Society came on the back of the warrior losing all of his shinigami powers. Knowing this would be the case, never once did Ichigo show a hint of hesitation while he did what had to be done.

Ongoing events of such significance do not simply stop with the defeat of one man, though. Weak from the losses incurred upon them during the war against Aizen, the Thirteen Court Guards have been slow to respond to hollows appearing in the world of the living. With several of their captain-class officers still in recovery from the wounds they received on the battlefield, the coordination of assets that would normally fall to them has become the responsibility of younger, more inexperienced members of their squads.

These substitutes have proven ill prepared and ill equipped to handle such trying times. After the systematic extermination of the majority of Hueco Mundo's most powerful hollows, the churning masses of mindless Gillians that make their home in the endless night of those desert realms have more and more frequently found their way into the living world. Indeed, without their Vasto Lorde masters to guide them, the endless hordes of hollows could pose a greater threat to Earth and the Soul Society than they ever have in the past. As a result, many of the human individuals who'd become heroes in their own right during the Hueco Mundo campaign, such as Sado Yasutora and Uryuu Ishida, have been drafted by the ailing Thirteen Court Guards in an effort to control the rising tide of hollows flowing into Japan, whether they like it or not.

With no ability to help his friends in any meaningful capacity in the labors brought on by Aizen's defeat, Ichigo has begun to slip deeper and deeper into depression. In an effort to cheer up his son, Isshin decided recently to take his family on vacation. After pulling some strings with certain influential parties in Soul Society, he was able to obtain an all expenses paid round trip to the islands of Hawaii, through winning a contest he never actually entered.

Meanwhile, oblivious to the events of epic scope happening in the world around him, Tsukune Aono returned to his family one month ago, after most of Yokai Academy was destroyed by Hitomi Ishigami. Separated from the girls pursuing his heart by order of the Monster World, Tsukune has grown more and more restless as he waits for the reconstruction and renovations of his school to finish. Hoping to maximize their memories of what could be the last opportunity they get to see Tsukune for a long time, his parents made the decision to go on a family vacation to Okinawa.

A week before the trip, Tsukune's father, Koji, received a phone call regarding a contest he'd entered days before he and his wife decided to go on vacation. Much to his surprise, his name had been drawn as one of the two winners of the contest's grand prize: An all expenses paid trip to the islands of Hawaii.

In a chance phone conversation, Tsukune let slip to the snow woman Mizore Shirayuki that he and his family were to be vacationing in Hawaii for the next ten days. Recognizing the chance for what it was, the snow woman inadvertently told her principal rivals, Moka Akashiya, Kurumu Kurono, and Yukari Sendo of the vacation. After only a few hours, the four began to hatch a daring escape plan that would let them see the target of their affections once again in the middle of a tropical paradise.

So, when the plane carrying Tsukune Aono, Ichigo Kurosaki, and their respective families flew out from Tokyo airport, neither could imagine the impending consequences of what seemed like an innocent vacation to a small island chain in the Pacific Ocean. Our story begins at sundown in the shadow of Mt. Ka'ala, as flight 402 arrives at the Honolulu International Airport.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.

I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.

Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.

This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.

Before anyone asks, I don't plan on using honorifics for this story. I just find it strange to use Japanese honorifics when writing in English. I also do not plan on using the translated name for shinigami, even though I'm using the translated name of the Gotei 13. I'd use soul reaper, but it just doesn't have the cool sound to it that shinigami does. Just thought I'd put that out there for anyone reading this preemptively.

* * *

**Chapter 1**: To Regard a Rendezvous

* * *

The deep, hissing roar of turbine engines filled the air as Ichigo Kurosaki, his sisters Yuzu and Karin, and his father, Isshin, made their way out of the main entrance of the Honolulu International Airport. Even as day gave way to the night, the bustling complex teemed with crowds of people coming and going from the busy terminal. It was like an endless current of human motion, filled with people moving about their daily lives, flowing without heed or care for the arrival of a few foreign tourists.

"So this is O'ahu?" Asked Karin, to the wind. The eleven year old girl pushed a stray bit of her black hair away from her eyes with her free left hand as she took in the sights for the first time, her right hand occupied with a blue duffel bag that contained her personal effects. Dressed in a simple short-sleeved, olive green t-shirt and red shorts, the young ladies stoical attitude belayed the fact that she was much more excited to be here than she'd willingly admit to the other members of her family.

"How can you be so calm, Karin?" Cried the twin sister that paced alongside her, Yuzu, her own green bag swinging like a pendulum from the motion of her small arms as she bounced around in excitement. In contrast to her more serious sister, Yuzu wore a frilly goldenrod sundress with a matching, wide brimmed sun hat, making the two twin sisters seem as different as night and day. She huffed slightly, as if her sister's calm expression was a personal problem that she needed to fix, _right __now._

The fact that despite being so different, both girls somehow managed to accidentally wear matching sandals was nothing short of astounding.

"Yeah!" Hollered the deep, masculine voice of their father, Isshin, who wore a multicolor aloha shirt with a dazzling floral pattern, green shorts, and a pink floral garland called a lei around his neck. His gestures would have been just as colorful as his wardrobe, if he weren't weighed down by half a dozen bags containing an array of clothes and knickknacks the elder Kurosaki felt he needed, "how can you be so calm, Karin! The beaches, the spas, the surf! We're in paradise, and it's free!"

The black haired little girl simply shrugged, a deadpan expression on her face as she looked up at her encumbered parent, and said in a tone laced with an absolutely miniscule touch of sarcasm, "And just why are you so excited, anyway?"

"Why?" Isshin cried out dramatically, almost in a shriek as he tried, and failed, to wave his arms around in dissent, "the sounds, the smells, the sights! It's as if we've entered a whole new world, full of thrills to seek and treasures to find! How could I not be excited!"

"Yeah, Karin, how could you not be excited!" Yuzu echoed, mimicking the wild gestures her father was trying to make despite being weighed down by his veritable pile of junk.

"Be careful, old-man," sighed Ichigo, as he trailed a few paces behind his father and sisters, "you're going to drop your bags."

"Nonsense, Ichigo!" Isshin called back in a voice filled with absolute confidence, spinning around on his left heel alone, his right foot pressed against his left leg in what looked like a poorly performed ballerina twirl, "I'm as agile as a crane, and as graceful as a panther! I won't even drop a bead of sweat, let alone a bag!"

"Right..." Ichigo uttered, trailing off as he turned his gaze away from his father towards another jet as it roared to life overhead, bound for the brilliantly glowing orange sunset in the west. His clothes were ordinary, and came out of his daily casual wardrobe. He wore a purple t-shirt, with red trim along the hems that read 'nice vibe' in white capital letters, with a small yellow star just to the right of the letter e, and an ordinary pair of form fitting blue jeans.

"Come on, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu chimed as she walked back to her brother, grabbed onto his wrist, and pulled him up to walk alongside them, "Let's go! Our ride to the hotel should be waiting for us just down the road!"

Ichigo gave no resistance as his sister threatened to yank his arm out from her enthusiastic tugs. His usual scowl had been replaced by a new countenance; a bored demeanor, masking a subtle detachment to his environment tinged by an only slightly discernible measure of sadness. To his family and his friends, this new normal face was far more ugly than any scowl they'd ever seen the former shinigami make in the past, but none yet had found a way to make it go away.

To his credit, he tried not to let his younger sisters see him make it often. Collecting himself quickly, the orange haired boy adopted a happy, broad grin as Yuzu lead him down the road, towards the pick-up and drop-off area of the airport parking lot. It was a fake look, and he knew they knew it, but he was trying his best not to make them worry.

According to the brochure given to them when they 'won' their contest, they were to meet up with the family of the other grand prize winner and be escorted to the hotel by limousine, where they'd be shown to their rooms and presented an evening dinner. At the dinner, they'd be told exactly what kind of activities they'd be participating in during their stay, and what kind of schedule they'd have to keep. Ichigo had thought that a strict schedule of activities defeated the point of a vacation, but kept his opinion to himself. His father, Yuzu, and Karin had obviously been excited for the trip, and he wasn't about to spoil it for them.

"Ah, good, that must be the limousine over there!" Isshin bellowed, half-gesturing with his right arm to a white stretch limo he'd managed to spot in the distance. He didn't even notice one of the bags fall out of his arms as he did so, landing behind him with a soft plop.

"Told you so," Ichigo said sardonically, eyeballing the fallen bag as his father continued to gesture to the limousine obliviously.

"What?" Isshin barked, still not realizing he'd dropped something, "I didn't hear you say anything about the limo?"

"Sir, I think he means your bag," came a new voice, coming up from behind them in perfect Japanese.

"Huh?" Isshin yelped, turning around just in time to see a slender boy with short, brown hair dressed in a much less colorful red aloha shirt and white shorts, offering him his lost bag with his left hand, which jingled with a strange looking lock and chain ornament. Reaching out, Isshin retrieved the lost bag gratefully, "Why thank you, young man! I never would have noticed!"

Ichigo and Karin could hardly resist the urge to face palm.

The boy nodded, skipping off to their right towards a man and woman that they could only presume to be his parents. Strange, Ichigo thought, he could have sworn he'd seen them before somewhere. Maybe they came in on the same plane?

"Hey, Ichi-nii, wasn't that boy the son of the other contest winner?" Karin asked, her tone rather matter-of-fact.

"I don't know, he does look kind of familiar," Ichigo said uncertainly. He pondered the thought for a moment, as he and his family continued on towards the limousine. Continued on, at least, until their attention was drawn back towards their right when they heard a girl's voice yell out above the sounds of the airport 'Yahoo!'

Sitting atop a large, white traffic barrier was a beautiful young lady of about Ichigo's age with stunning blue hair cut to just above her shoulders. She was clothed in a red tank top with matching ribbon tied in a bow beneath her considerable bust, a dark gray and black knee length plaid skirt, and black flip flop sandals – all of which stood out in stark contrast to her perfectly clear cream colored skin. Yet her most striking feature was definitely the expression of warmth she beamed even more evidently than the warm colors of her outfit. It was quite clear from the twinkle in her violet eyes that she was absolutely, positively thrilled to see whatever it was she was looking at.

"Tsukune!" She cried out, hopping down off the barrier as she raised her left hand, waving in a wide arc towards the boy who'd just retrieved Isshin's handbag. Staring on in wonder, the elder Kurosaki couldn't help but let his mouth fall agape.

"Whoa, that kid's girlfriend is hot!" Isshin uttered, earning him a swift jab to the chin from Karin, "Ow! But, it's true! Damn it, Ichigo, why can't you have a hot girlfriend like that?"

Two more jabs from Karin later, and Isshin lay twitching in a pile of his own bags on the side of the road.

Ichigo simply ignored his old man, in favor of watching the ongoing situation with bemused interest. It seemed to him that despite not being in an island where Japanese was a common language, there were a lot of people who spoke it around here.

"Kurumu?" The boy named Tsukune exclaimed in utter shock, his gaze shifting nervously as if expecting the growing shadows from the setting sun to reach out and grab him. Upon hearing her name, the blue haired girl rushed over and embraced the boy, practically crushing his head in a vice grip between her arms and her chest as his parents watched in astonishment.

"Tsukune!" She cried out happily as she snuggled her cheek against the top of his head, her mind absent to the fact that her actions were drawing a crowd of onlookers, "when I heard you were coming here on vacation, I knew I just had to be here to see you!"

"But, wait, how did you-"

"She came with us," another girl's voice said, its owner appearing as if out of nowhere from the boy's perspective, directly behind him. This new young woman wore a mane of lavender hair that seemed content to crest out rebelliously like small leaves on a palm tree, with eyes that matched the tone of her hair completely. She fidgeted slightly, as if nervous, her almost perfect porcelain complexion free from even a bead of sweat despite warm island breeze. She was dressed in a conservatively cut blue colored two piece swimsuit, her lower body covered by an additional, cyan colored shawl. A fragrant band of pink blossoms draped down her neck, catching slightly in the breeze. She shifted a candy of some sort around in her mouth, evident by the sway of a long white stick from the left side of her lips to the right as she spoke with a voice that was close to a hushed whisper, "Tsukune, why couldn't your vacation have been somewhere more comfortable, like the Alps, or Scandinavia?"

"M-Mizore too?" Tsukune stuttered, the blue haired girl finally releasing him from her grip, "does that mean-"

"Yukari's here too!" A small girl called out, apparently about the age of Karin and Yuzu, as she came running out from inside the parking garage. Her bizarre outfit made her look like a comical depiction of a witch, hat and everything. Long locks of chocolate brown hair escaped down from her brown colored, wide brimmed witches hat, which was well accented in tandem with her purple blouse and dull yellow plaid skirt. It wasn't really her that caught Tsukune's attention, though. What did, was the tall girl with long pink hair that strode out from behind her.

"Moka!" He said, his voice turning more bubbly as the new arrival stepped out of the garage and crossed towards the growing group. Her outfit was more reserved than either the blue or lavender haired girls, consisting of a green v-neck shirt with short sleeves, a pair of dull yellow shorts, white tennis shoes with matching socks, and am olive green sun visor. Her delicate, lithe body and perfectly unblemished skin made her look almost like a goddess amongst mortals. For a brief moment, it seemed to onlookers like the blue and lavender haired girls turned to glare at the new arrival, while the younger girl cheered.

"No, I think that one's probably the girlfriend," Yuzu whispered to Karin, who by this point had just about lost interest in the entire affair as it unfolded before them.

"Who cares?" She asked with a shrug, "let them have their hugging match, we have a ride to catch."

"But Karin, look at the scandal!" Yuzu said, her eyes pleading as she gestured to the group of girls, now encircling the boy as they continued to chat about something that the Kurosakis couldn't quite make out thanks to the still growing crowd, "don't you want to see what happens next?"

"I DO!" Isshin cried out, finally digging himself out head first from the mountain of bags he'd found himself under, just in time to get planted back in by Karin's left foot.

"Nobody asked you!"

* * *

"So, Tsukune!" Kurumu chirped, finally taking her eyes off Moka as she tried to pry Tsukune's attention off the pink haired vampire and firmly back to her, "where are you staying on your trip?"

"I'm not sure, actually," Tsukune answered, his eyes shifting uncomfortably towards the blue haired succubus, "We haven't even found our ride to the hotel yet."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Kurumu cried happily, folding her arm into Tsukune's and latching unto him as tightly as a grizzly bear latches unto a freshly caught salmon, "let's go find them!"

"What about you... where are you staying?" Tsukune asked, a cold feeling of dread forming in the bottom of his stomach at the answer he already knew was coming.

"Well, at your hotel, of course!" Kurumu answered brusquely, "where else?"

"I had a feeling you were going to say that," Tsukune said, a light feeling of dizziness forming to keep the dread he felt in his stomach company.

"Tsukune, are you going to introduce your father to your friends?" an older looking woman who bore strong resemblance to her son said, interrupting the en masse girl fawning he was receiving. Turning to face his father – a taller man with short brown hair, handsome features and a strong, set jaw, dressed in an almost identical outfit to his sons – Tsukune's face couldn't help but turn red.

"D-dad, these are my friends from school, Moka Akashiya, Kurumu Kurono, Yukari Sendo, and Mizore Shirayuki," Tsukune declared, gesturing to each girl as he announced them, who in turn made a nod of greeting or a bow in curtsey.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Koji Aono, Tsukune's father," Koji answered, a proud smile on his face at the now neatly lined up array of girls, "What an incredible coincidence, running into you here on the island of O'ahu."

"It's not a coincidence," Mizore replied curtly, her gaze cast shyly away from Koji's eyes, "Tsukune told us you were coming here."

"Is that so?" Koji replied, casting a knowing look sidelong at his son, who shook his head furiously.

"I just mentioned that we had a vacation coming up, I had no idea they were-"

"We wanted to surprise you, Tsukune," Moka explained, a sweet smile on her face, "so we all made plans to come here and greet you."

"Well, you certainly accomplished that," Tsukune's mother, Kasumi, said with a chuckle, "Will you be coming with us to the hotel?"

"Definitely, we will!" Yukari said, her tone fervent as she spun in place beside Moka.

"I hope we have room, there's supposed to be another whole family that has to ride along with us to the hotel," Tsukune said, his voice showing a bit of concern as he realized that the seven of them would make for quite a large group.

"Ah, you worry too much, Tsukune!" Kurumu said cheerfully as she tightened her grip on Tsukune's arm, "I'm sure there will be more than enough room to go around!"

None of them noticed a man with long, braided hair and dirty brown clothes slip out of the crowd and casually inch towards Kasumi with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Not until, in a flash of motion, he ripped her bag clear out of her grasp, threw the woman to the ground, and darted down the road into the crowd of stunned onlookers with her belongings in hand.

"Hey, stop!" Koji yelled, pursuing after the swift thief, with Tsukune and Kurumu right behind him. Frowning, Mizore pulled her hand to the side, as if about to do something dangerous, only to be interrupted by Moka as she softly moved to restrain the lavender haired girl, her fingers brushing ever so slightly against the snow-woman's wrist.

"But he-" Mizore protested, only to be met by Moka's shaking head. Scowling slightly, Mizore looked away, irritated by the vampire's apparent disapproval with what she was about to do.

"Stop, damn you!" Koji shouted as the thief gained ground on him, darting through the startled crowd at a rate that the more sluggish Koji couldn't contend with.

Until out of nowhere, the bottom sole of a shoe stopped him dead in his tracks, that is.

"Purse snatching, really?" Ichigo said darkly, as he lifted the bag from the stunned thief now sprawled flat on the road. Turning to face Tsukune, Koji, and Kurumu, Ichigo offered them the bag and said with a shrug of his shoulders, "well, I guess it's only fair I get to return the favor."


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.

I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.

Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.

This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Chapter 2**: White Stone / Black Sleeves.

* * *

After the brief pursuit of the would-be purse snatcher was ended on the soles of Ichigo's shoes, both groups found themselves detained temporarily by airport security. Fortunately for the anxious tourists, the astounding number of witnesses, coupled with security tapes cleared them of any wrongdoing in short order, and they were swiftly sent on their way. It didn't take long for both groups to make their introductions, and soon after they were chatting amongst themselves as they made their way towards the white limousine that awaited them.

As it turned out, Kurumu's prediction that there would be more than enough room was completely correct. Even with all eleven people inside the vehicle, there felt like there was considerable room left over. The inside of the limousine was dominated by plush materials, made of gray leather and soft white cloths. It was dimly lit on the inside, with faint blue lights coming from rows of LED strips placed snugly beneath the long rows of seats that sat along the left, right, and back flanks of the vehicle.

Taking the back side of the limousine's interior was the Aono group, who sat in a counterclockwise order of Yukari, Koji, Kasumi, Kurumu, Tsukune, Moka, and Mizore, with Tsukune sitting approximately at twelve o clock. Next to Yukari was Yuzu and Karin, in that order, and next to Mizore was Ichigo, then Isshin. The two groups had relieved themselves of most of their bags, which now sat in the limousine's trunk, with the exception of Isshin's excessive number of parcels, which sat idly in a pile on the empty seat beside him.

Traffic was slow near the airport that evening, due in large part to the built up crowd that formed to gawk at the antics of Tsukune and his not-quite girlfriends. Now, tempers rose high amidst the motorists as people sought a quick release from the hustle and bustle of the airport to the peaceful serenity of the Hawaiian night. To the Kurosakis, the Aonos, and the assorted girls who'd decided to tag along, events were rolling along at a much calmer pace as they came to know the strangers they'd be spending the next ten days with.

"You're from Karakura, then?" Kasumi asked, her warm smile fixed on Isshin as the conversation rolled on, to which Isshin nodded in reply.

"I run the Kurosaki clinic in town," Isshin affirmed, beaming with pride at the mention of his little doctors office, "we perform all sorts of medical procedures there. We can do just about anything, except for major surgery."

"That must be hard, running a private practice all by yourself?" Koji asked, intrigued by the fact that the man who'd come across as nothing more than a silly oaf when he'd first laid eyes upon him was, in actuality, a skilled physician.

"It can be, but it's nothing we can't handle, right Yuzu, Karin?" Isshin declared, casting a smooth grin at his two daughters. In their own polar opposite ways, Karin simply rolled her eyes, while Yuzu nodded her head happily in reply.

Ichigo, who'd been quiet the whole time, simply kept his disinterested gaze fixed on the traffic as it continued to inch along.

"What about your son their, how old is he?" Koji asked, his attention turning slightly towards Ichigo.

"Oh him, he's fifteen, turning sixteen in a few months," Isshin answered, with a dismissive wave of his hand, "a little younger than your son, if I recall."

"Isn't it great, Ichigo?" Yuzu exclaimed lightheartedly, smiling at her brother, "we were worried you wouldn't have anyone your age to play with on the trip, and now look at all the people you'll have around you!"

If it hadn't been his little sister, Ichigo might have said something snide about getting to 'play with' Tsukune and his stable, but decided it was better for everyone to just let the comment pass with a simple nod. The way he kept the company of several girls reminded him of Mizuiro, which by itself wasn't a bad thing. Yet, there was something he couldn't place about these young people that put him off. Judging by the fact that he was mostly behaving himself while in their company, Ichigo wondered if his father's instincts weren't spinning a similar tale.

Besides, when it came down to it, Ichigo really didn't feel that comfortable hanging around with guy who had three women fawning over him, and fighting for his affection. Nor did he feel entirely comfortable about being sat next to the attractive girl in the two piece swimsuit, but after dealing with the likes of Yoruichi, Rangiku, and Nel in her adult form, this minor level of awkwardness was easy to cope with.

From the perspective of Tsukune's said not-quite girlfriends, Ichigo presented them with a potential problem. He was a human, and he was their age. If they were lucky, he'd want nothing to do with any of them and stick to his family. Yet if he turned out to be an outgoing person, they'd have to be careful with what they said and did for the duration of the trip. None of them, save perhaps Mizore, wanted to deliberately offend him to the point where he would outright avoid them. After all, doing so would definitely upset Tsukune. Just the same though, it would have been much more convenient to the girls if he simply disappeared.

At least, that was what everyone but Yukari thought. The immodest eleven year old witch, to her credit, simply didn't care one way or another if Ichigo, or anyone else for that matter, was there. She'd long since recovered from her crippling fear of the human world the last time they left the Academy on vacation, and this time, she was bound and determined to enjoy herself in every way possible. If that meant they'd have another third wheel tagging along (because to Yukari, everyone but Moka and Tsukune were third wheels), then she'd just turn him into a tire swing. Literally.

"I can't wait to go to the beach!" Yukari cried out happily, her arms raised above her head as she stretched lazily, one eye closed as she eyed Ichigo with the other, "you know, you might just be able to help me out!"

Regarding her curiously, Ichigo raised an eyebrow in interest. Taking that as consent to keep talking, Yukari explained, "You see, I have a plan to isolate Tsukune and Moka on a secluded beach at some point during the trip. If you could keep milk jugs and Popsicle stick busy while I seduced Tsukune into having a threesome with Moka and me, I would really appreciate it!"

Ichigo, along with everyone else in the car, stared in shock at the small girl, mouths agape in horror at what Yukari just said. Everyone except Yuzu Kurosaki, that is. Her confused question a few seconds later simply made everything that much worse.

"What's a threesome?"

* * *

The rest of the limousine ride went much more quietly. Tsukune somehow managed to prevent a family crisis, while Isshin sent Yuzu and Karin to sit next to Ichigo, placing himself between the perverted little girl and his own daughters like a shield. For Ichigo, nothing that he'd experienced from those playfully immodest women like Yoruichi could have prepared him for dealing with words like that from a child. More than once during the ride, he'd wished he was back in Hueco Mundo, fighting hollows in a desperate battle. That was pure, that was familiar; he could handle that. Yukari's mouth... not so much.

It took about an hour, thanks to traffic, to get to their destination. Their hotel was a series of large buildings on the Waikiki Beach, each over twenty stories tall. They were set up in slightly misshapen L pattern, with the largest of the buildings on the bottom far corner of the property, near the oceanfront. Glowing orange lights illuminated the courtyards between buildings, which was dominated by several tall palm trees and various fountains that shot thin tendrils of water up into the air in a never ending, graceful dance. All of the amenities one would expect from a high class resort were to be found somewhere within plain sight on the grounds. Spaces for popular sports amongst the rich and famous, like tennis and basketball courts, were obvious and easily accessible, while several swimming pools could be spotted clear from the valet.

All in all, together with it's almost honeycombed architecture of windows, balconies, and pristine white concrete, it was more or less a paragon of western-styled luxury. It was here that they would be staying for the next ten days, on a trip that was probably worth more money than what Isshin made in a year's profit. Whoever he called in Soul Society to get this trip was _damn_ good.

Dinner went just as quickly as their ride to the hotel – that is, it wasn't quick at all, though the meal itself was superb. They were served in an outdoor dining room, only a few dozen yards away from the ocean, under a canopy of thatched wood and palm leaves. Their food was simple but delicious. Their first course was an appetizer called lomi salmon, a dish that combines raw salmon chopped into cubes, with fresh tomato, Maui onions, and crushed ice, served in a porcelain bowl. Their entree was a dish called laulau, consisting of steamed seasoned beef, wrapped in large green leaves, with a side of macaroni salad. For desert, they were all treated to an array of candied fruits, served atop a dollop of french vanilla ice cream.

Needless to say, by the end, nobody was left hungry.

What made the meal tedious for them was the man from the tour agency. Together they discussed, down to the finest detail, what they'd be doing during their vacation. To the amazement of everyone, it seemed like there was an endless gauntlet of activities that they were expected to partake in. Scuba diving, surfing, rock climbing, and even things as simple as shopping were booked into their routine. Their time was budgeted into such a carefully crafted and precise schedule that, if they wanted to see everything, they'd have to abide to it rigidly. More than one person sitting at the table had thought to themselves that it all seemed rather exhausting, but none of them were about to speak up about it. After all, it was _free,_ and if they really didn't want to, they didn't actually _have_ to do anything according to the schedule, save for the time of their eventual departure from the island.

When the meal ended, they were escorted to their rooms. It seemed for a while that the Aono group would have to share their lodgings between the seven of them, but after hearing Kasumi's complaints, Kurumu made swift work of the situation with some subtle uses of her allure ability, earning the four stowaways their own set of rooms for the stay. It was a sudden shift that did not go unnoticed by either of the two Kurosaki men, who mutually decided not to discuss it until Yuzu and Karin had gone to bed.

Both families found themselves staying in penthouse suites on the top floor of the main building at the hotel. More apartments than hotel rooms, the large accommodations were both strikingly modern and trendy. Wide, transparent glass windows dominated the entire eastern side of the suite, their command of the eastern wall broken only by a few columns made of white marble that ran from the light gray carpet of the floor to the smooth whitewashed hardwood of the ceiling. The four bed, four bath suite was laid out in such a way that all of the rooms connected to a single, central living room that was roughly oval in shape. The living room contained a large circular coffee table made of mahogany, flanked by several wooden arm chairs with plush, red cushioned seats. Along the eastern side of the room was a large flat screen television, with a complimentary sound system that was probably as expensive as it looked.

Each bedroom was about the same as the others. A raised, queen sized bed held court over a majority of the room, its burgundy blankets forming a pleasant contrast from the rest of the clean, almost sterile white that made up the lot of the rooms. A nightstand with lamp sat next to each bed, and a smaller flat panel television sit suspended from the wall opposite the bed, with it's remote control in plain sight on the opposing headboard. A set of drawers were apparent under the bed's raised platform, eager and ready to accept whatever items the occupant had to place in them.

Naturally, Isshin found it just about impossible to fit all of his stuff inside, but he managed. Somehow.

It hadn't been long before Yuzu and Karin found themselves asleep in their big, comfortable beds, and Isshin and Ichigo were left alone. Together, they stared out into the ocean from their penthouse window, as the surf broke and splashed against the beach beneath the moonlight. For several moments, they were silent. In the end, it was Ichigo who broke the quiet still, his eyes ever fixed upon the churning sea below.

"There's something strange about those girls," Ichigo said in a matter-of-fact way, "It's almost as if they're-"

"More than human," Isshin said bluntly, taking the words out of his son's mouth. Ichigo could only nod in affirmation. His father with a serious expression was still as off putting this time as any other time he'd seen it before, "I sensed something odd about them long before I saw any of them, so I _was_ suspicious, but it wasn't until the blue haired one convinced the owner to give them all their own rooms for free that I felt anything substantial."

"Do you think they could be aware humans, like Chad or Inoue?" Ichigo asked, his head turning to regard his father.

"I doubt it, their spiritual pressure is composed in a way I've never seen before," Isshin answered towards the mirror, shaking his head no, "If I had to venture a guess, I'd say they were souls from a very remote part of Soul Society in a few gigais, or some exotic kind of mod-souls, like Kon."

"What do you suppose they want?" Ichigo asked, his old, characteristic scowl forming onto his face, causing Isshin to glance towards his son.

"Who knows, maybe they really are just here on vacation?" He surmised, a small thread of a grin forming on his lips, "either way, they're nothing to worry about. If it comes down to it, they wont be a threat for very long."

"I guess not," Ichigo said, his face relaxing back into it's bored, almost sad look as he turned back towards the window.

"Don't worry about it, Ichigo!" Isshin said, his silly demeanor returning as the tense moment passed, "you should be more focused on how you're going to steal away one of those beauties from that Tsukune kid! Because if anyone in this world needs a girlfriend, it's you!"

"Gee, thanks old man," Ichigo muttered, glaring at his father as he turned away and started towards his bedroom, half slamming the door and disappearing from sight. With his words of encouragement only serving to upset his son, Isshin couldn't help but sigh in defeat.

"_I just don't know what to do with him right now, Masaki."_


	4. Chapter 3

_A special thanks to p17oyDONju9n for reminding me of something I intended to put in explicit terms in the prologue disclaimer, which I'll instead add here. _

_As a story, Soulborn takes place after manga volume 48 of Bleach, and after the end of the first serialization of Rosario + Vampire. It is AU for both original manga from beyond that point. That means groups of characters, concepts, and plot developments from the original two manga, such as the Fairy Tale organization from Rosario + Vampire's second serialization, and Xcution from Bleach's latest chapters, may not exist in Soulborn. _

_Chapter 4 should follow shortly. 3 and 4 were originally going to be one single chapter, but it was running much too long, so I decided to split it up._

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.

I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.

Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.

This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Chapter 3**: Fates by the Swim Trunks

* * *

The next morning came much too quickly for Ichigo's tastes. After his brief conversation with his father about the strange actions of the various girls that followed Tsukune around like puppy dogs awaiting a treat, he'd tried to clear his mind by reading a few of the books he'd brought with him for the ride over. It was one of Ichigo's best kept secrets that he had, in fact, an ongoing fascination with the complete works of William Shakespeare. So whenever he picked up one of the Bard's titles to read in public, many people who didn't know him well were usually quite surprised.

He slept after a while, but it wasn't a terribly long or restful slumber. He woke earlier than the other members of his family, at about eight in the morning local time. With a change of scenery in mind, Ichigo pulled a few articles of clothing out from his red colored suitcase to change into. He hadn't bothered to undress himself from the previous day's outfit when he'd gone to bed, but he wasn't about to go out in the same outfit again today. He still had an image to uphold, and being a bit of a slob wasn't part of it.

His outfit for the day was a fairly simple one. He selected an airy, white button-down shirt with short sleeves, and pockets in the front to go with a pair of knee length, blue colored shorts made of cotton. Beneath the button-down shirt, which he thought to wear open, was a fairly ordinary baby blue muscle shirt. Satisfied with his selection, Ichigo took his clothes, plus a change of underwear, and after a quick shower, was dressed and on his way downstairs with his personal copy of _Macbeth_ tucked beneath his arm.

After a bit of wandering, Ichigo found himself in a large outdoor cafe that was a part of the resort. Both spacious and well lit, the tropical themed establishment catered to those who expected the sort of exotic decorations and regalia in an island restaurant that are depicted in the typical Hollywood movie. Several circular tables awaited to seat customers throughout the cafe, each with their own umbrella made of thatched straw that vaguely reminded Ichigo of a _sugegasa. _On each table, an array of island flowers were arranged into a bouquet inside a thin and angular glass vase. Without missing a step, Ichigo found an empty table and sat down, ordered a cup of coffee, and began to read his book.

"You're up early," Said the voice of an older gentleman to Ichigo's left, his Japanese spoken under a thick Hawaiian accent, "too excited to begin your day to sleep in?"

Turning to regard the voice, Ichigo saw the familiar form of the man from the touring agency that had ironed out their schedule with them the night before. The most extraordinary feature about the man was, far and away, his height. At six-foot-eight, the man stood even taller than Ichigo's friend Chad, and his muscular build gave an impression that they might be long lost relatives. He was dressed rather formally, sporting a white blazer with purple undershirt, a white tie, matching dress pants, and expensive black leather shoes. He wore his black hair short and slicked back, with a faint hint of gray peeping out at the roots. He had a distinguished air about him, which served to enhance the strong, handsome features of a face that bore growing lines of age. His brown eyes looked down at Ichigo with a gentle, unassuming care of a man who loved children, and probably had many of his own.

"Couldn't sleep," Ichigo answered briskly, setting his book down as he took a sip of his coffee. He didn't know why he ordered it, he didn't even really care for coffee, "Figured I might as well come down and not wake everyone up."

"How considerate of you," The man said, beaming Ichigo an approving smile, "forgive me, you're Isshin's son, correct?"

"Yeah," Ichigo answered with a nod, "Ichigo Kurosaki."

"My apologies, it's difficult for me to remember the names of everyone I encounter on the job," the man said, bowing his head slightly as he handed Ichigo a small white card that bore some words in English, "I'm Ka'eo Mahelona, if you have any needs during your trip, I'm always on the other end of that number."

Examining the card more carefully, Ichigo noted a phone number on the bottom of the card. He couldn't read much of what was written on the card otherwise, but he knew a phone number when he saw it. "Thanks, I'll hold onto it."

"But I didn't mean to interrupt your reading, so I'll be on my way," Ka'eo said, an apologetic smile on his face, "please, enjoy your time here in Hawaii."

Turning, the man paced away without another word.

Thinking nothing else of the chance encounter, Ichigo picked up his book and was about to resume reading, when he heard a pair of voices he was starting to become accustomed to, shouting in unison at each other. The orange haired boy didn't even bother turning his head. He didn't need to – everyone within a half mile could probably hear their not-so private conversation.

"How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me that!" Kurumu shouted, her fist raised at the pint sized witch who ran out ahead of her, into the cafe.

"I could call you heifer instead!" Yukari shot back, sticking her tongue out at the blue haired succubus as she ran further into the cafe.

"Why you..." Kurumu growled, her fist now shaking as she tried to keep her cool, "I think you need to be taught a lesson, little girl."

"Bring it on, whole milk!" Yukari cooed in a sweet sounding voice, stomping her foot in defiance at the older girl.

"That's it!" Kurumu shouted, bursting into a run after the young lass, "I'm going to teach you some respect!"

"Oh no, she's charging, I better run before she tramples me with her utters!" Yukari cried in mock fear, as she made a B line away from Kurumu.

As the two ran past, Ichigo finally got a good look at them. Yukari was dressed in virtually the same outfit as last time, one the former shinigami was beginning to think reflected well of her foul mouth. On the other hand, Kurumu was dressed in a very different outfit. She wore a sleeveless pink shirt, with the hem cut high to expose her naval, with a thin vest made of denim atop it. A baby blue skirt that reached halfway to her knees danced in response to the swaying motion of her hips, as she chased Yukari out the cafe into other parts of the restaurant. Even her shoes were different, her black flip flops replaced by a pair of white tennis shoes with long, matching socks.

She was attractive, Ichigo definitely had to admit, while he pulled up his book and began to read again. Yet if this was any indication of the blue haired girl's normal behavior, he couldn't help but wonder just how Tsukune kept himself from passing out from exhaustion.

"Well, they're busy this morning," Another person said, forcing Ichigo to turn his attention away from his book once more to turn his gaze that way. As if summoned by his very thoughts, Tsukune stood off to his left, a small brown bag tucked under his arm. "Mind if I join you?"

"If you want," Ichigo conceded, closing the book that he probably wouldn't get to finish this morning.

For a moment, the two were quiet. In the end, it was Tsukune who spoke first, "it's pretty humid out today, isn't it?"

Recognizing the small talk for what it was, Ichigo nodded in reply, "yeah, a bit."

The silence that followed for a moment was particularly awkward.

"I hope that Yukari didn't give you guys the wrong impression," Tsukune finally said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "she has a way of saying outrageous things sometimes."

"_So that's what this is about?"_ Ichigo thought to himself, choosing his words carefully as he spoke to the other boy sitting near him, "I met a kid once who had a vocabulary that didn't quite match her age, I think I understand where you're coming from."

"I'm glad," Tsukune said, letting out a sigh of relief, "I was afraid everyone was going to think I was some kind of crazy pervert when she said that in the car."

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo said, his characteristic scowling face forming as he waved a hand dismissively, "from what I've seen of her, I wouldn't be surprised if she said what she said just to get that kind of reaction out of everyone."

"No, she probably meant what she said quite literally," the somewhat hushed voice of Mizore answered, poking her head out from under the table where both Ichigo and Tsukune were sitting, right between the two of them.

Both Tsukune and Ichigo recoiled slightly in surprise, though Tsukune recovered quickly from experience. Ichigo on the other hand, was almost beside himself. He asked, in an exasperated tone just short of a yell, "how long have you been under there, anyway?"

"Long enough to know you really shouldn't try to get involved in books in public," Mizore answered, sitting down in the chair directly beside Tsukune.

Ichigo's scowl deepened. Neither Mizore or Tsukune bothered to change their clothes since yesterday. That, or they packed many, many identical sets of clothing. Either way, he hadn't really noticed Tsukune's non-change in clothes, but Mizore's choice of attire was hard for him not to notice.

From what he could tell, it was hard for Tsukune not to notice, either.

"A-are we going to the beach today, Mizore?" Tsukune stammered, his face turning beat red from close proximity to Mizore's revealing outfit.

"I don't know," Mizore replied, pulling her lollipop from her lips and scrutinizing it as if in deep contemplation, "it would be nice if the water wasn't so warm."

"It's too warm for you?" Tsukune asked, earning him a shallow nod from the lavender haired girl.

"That little brat!" Growled a now soaked Kurumu, who approached from outside the cafe towards the table before Mizore could give a proper reply, "can you believe it? She tripped some stranger and he fell right into me! I lost my balance and went right in a pool!"

Thin rivulets of water trickled down Kurumu's body as she stomped through the cafe, each step earning the ground another tiny puddle generated from the definitively drenched damsel. Both her top and her skirt clung tightly to her body, revealing more of her underwear than she likely wanted seen by the public. It didn't seem to bother her too much, at least, not so much that it got in the way of her indignation at a specific eleven year old witch.

"Are you okay, Kurumu?" Tsukune asked, as Mizore barely stifled a laugh.

"No, Tsukune!" Kurumu whined and, as Ichigo rose from his seat and walked off, stole the former shinigami's chair to use as her own, "I need you to console me! I've been traumatized!"

Mizore couldn't help but roll her eyes at the succubus' unoriginal ploy to try and gain the brown haired boy's attention. What surprised her, and everyone else, was when a white towel sailed onto her shoulder, heaved towards her from somewhere on her blindside. The three turned to see Ichigo, walking off towards the interior of the hotel.

"Ah... thanks!" Kurumu called out to the orange-haired boy, who raised his right in a wave of acknowledgment, never turning back as he departed.

The rather hectic antics of Tsukune and his harem were nothing compared to what awaited Ichigo when he returned to his families suite. He was greeted by his father's usual attempted battery for the morning, which was swiftly dealt with by means of a quick jab to the side of the head. Rather, what kept Ichigo's eyes and mind busy was his sister Yuzu. So excited was she, that in her brother's opinion, if she was anymore enthusiastic about the day, her poor little head might have exploded.

The activities they were to enjoy that day were split between three groups. On his father's urging, and the good graces of a the elder Mr. Aono, Ichigo was sent along with Tsukune, Moka, and Koji to a nearby sporting goods mega-store to enjoy whatever sort of athletic festivities they had to offer. Ichigo would have offered the spot to his more sports inclined sister, Karin, but a passing glance of his father's serious face said there was more to his decision than met the eye. So Ichigo chose to go along with it.

The rental company had given Koji a brand new red sedan to use as long as he was in Honolulu for his trip. It's spacious interior was by no means as luxurious as the stretch limousine that they'd been carried to their hotel in the day before, but it's soft leather seats and ample leg room still made for a very comfortable ride. All sorts of buttons and monitors lined a dash board trimmed by wooden panels with a luscious red finish. Yet when the key turned and the engine started, it roared to life with the steady hum of a muscle car, not the weak murmur of a typical family vehicle.

A fact that was entirely lost on Ichigo, Tsukune, and Moka. _There are some pleasures that only a grown man can appreciate_, Koji thought to himself, and he had every intention of absorbing the experience of driving such an expensive car to the fullest.

Seating arrangements were straightforwardly dictated by Koji before anyone sat foot in the car. Naturally, the Aono patriarch was set firmly in the drivers seat, while Tsukune and Ichigo were placed in the back seat, with Ichigo on the left and Tsukune on the right. Much to the disappointment of both Moka and Tsukune, the aforementioned vampire heroine was forced to sit shotgun next to Koji, who seemed intent on preventing his son from having a strictly romantic experience this early on the trip.

It was ironic, then, as just before they got in the car, Ichigo had offered to switch places with the disappointed looking Moka. While Koji oh so smoothly dismantled any chances of Moka taking up Ichigo's offer, it drove home the point to the vampire that in reality, the fiery haired teenager was far from the biggest obstacle towards realizing the opportunity this trip represented. Quietly, she found herself thankful that her principle rivals were stuck together with Kasumi, and made a point to thank Ichigo for being so considerate of her before the trip was over.

The drive across downtown Honolulu proved to be both scenic, and slightly terrifying. The powerful engine of the sedan brought out an ferocious side to Koji that was unknown even to Tsukune. Tight corners, hard accelerations, and plentiful speeding left the three teenagers wondering more than once whether or not they were going to survive he ride across town. In a way, his sheer abandon behind the wheel rivaled Kenpachi's abandon amidst the battlefield, or so Ichigo thought.

When they arrived at the sporting goods store, Ichigo, Moka, and Tsukune all found themselves up and out of the car so fast that Ichigo was left wondering if in that instant, he'd somehow managed to use shunpo. Getting as much distance from the vehicle that had brought them there as possible, all three were inside the three story shop before Koji could hardly say, _'hey, wait for me'_.

To say the store was big was something of an understatement. While only about three stories high, the massive shopping complex was easily larger in area than the typical supermarket. Red, blue, and orange dominated the color scheme of the store, with certain sections of the complex painted in different hues to reflect different sports as appropriate. Rows upon rows of equipment for every athletic pursuit imaginable lined the walls of the complex, with the center of the building dominated by a large indoor rock climbing wall. Surrounding the climbing wall was a fully functioning gym, which included spaces for weight lifting, boxing, aerobics, and machine running. There was even a side partition connected to the building that contained a firing range, for those who enjoyed gun sports, and archery.

"Alright, remember, the man at the agency said our shopping cap was one hundred sixty five thousand yen per individual," Koji reminded everyone as he caught up to rest, between gasps for air, "the debit cards they gave us already turned the money to dollars, so we don't have to worry about finding a bank to get our money changed around. Just remember, remember, remember, that this is all of the money you get for souvenirs and such."

Nodding in acknowledgment as Koji passed the cards out to present company, Ichigo, Moka, and Tsukune instantly found themselves separated from the elder Aono as he was off to the firing range. Nobody could be sure if Koji simply liked things that were aggressive, or just loud, but they certainly seemed to draw him like a moth to the flame.

"So, Ichigo, do you like sports?" Moka eventually asked as the group of three teenagers sifted through a few racks of sportswear, earning her a not so subtle look of surprise from Tsukune.

"Not really," Ichigo answered as he examined a swimsuit, realizing that he'd forgotten to bring one along for the trip, "I went to a karate dojo when I was a kid, but that was about the most of it."

"Neither of us play much sports either," Moka admitted, stifling a mild giggle at the silliness of the situation, "kind of odd that the three of us would be here, isn't it?"

"It seems like this stop was just an excuse for Dad to go see a shooting range, really," Tsukune said with a chuckle, shaking his head. In the back of his mind, he was glad that Moka wasn't afraid of socializing with what, as far as they could tell, was an average, run of the mill human. It wasn't too long ago, he recalled, that Moka bore a grudge against the entire species because of how she was treated as a child. He'd hoped, in his heart, that one day she might truly get over it, but until today he hadn't seen any proof that she'd made much progress. Sure, Tsukune knew she'd speak to _him_, but he wasn't a normal case.

"I'm going to try this on," Ichigo said, swinging a fairly ordinary blue colored pair of swim trunks over his shoulder as he walked off towards the dressing rooms, "I'll meet back up with you guys later."

"Tsukune, would you come over here for a moment?" Moka asked, as she noted to her delight that Ichigo was indeed wandering off out of sight, "I'd like your opinion on something."

"Sure," Tsukune called back unassumingly, only to be surprised as Moka yanked him into the secluded little alcove where she'd been browsing tennis outfits, and away from the eyes of any onlookers who might be passing by.

"Tsukune..." Moka uttered, her voice as low as her gaze as she fidgeted, releasing Tsukune, whom was now pressed between a rack of woman's tennis clothes and pink haired vampire who was precariously close to his person, and if her awkward motions were any indication, felt mighty uncomfortable.

"Moka?" Tsukune asked, cocking his head to the side. It was strange, he always had trouble reading this girl – this young woman he'd come to care so much about. Usually, when she pulled him off the side like this it, it meant... "ah, are you hungry, Moka?"

"N-no, I'm okay," Moka replied, her cheeks glowing a beat shade of red. She bit her lip nervously, before raising her head up towards the boy in front of her. For a moment, their eyes locked, and neither said a word. As she opened her mouth to speak, the blush that stained her cheeks crimson deepened to an even darker hue. "Tsukune, I..." She said, averting her eyes as she trailed off for a moment, before squaring her gaze upon the human before her, a glint of something else shining in her eyes. Determination? "Tsukune, I can't keep going like this anymore."

Sighing at his confusion, the pink haired vampire leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Tsukune."

In that moment, for the young human boy, time stopped. His throat dried, and it felt as if something, deep in his chest, fell into the pit of his stomach. In the space left between, he was left with the sensation of vertigo, an intense dizziness like one would feel while leaning over a deep, dangerous cliff without any safety restraints. His heart raced - a bead of sweat trickled down from the crown of his forehead to his temple, and down the side of his cheek. He felt many emotions swell out from the very core of his being. Joy, nervousness, exhilaration, anxiousness, uncertainty, and something else. Something that Tsukune couldn't quite put his finger on. Something that, in that moment in time, he could not hope to articulate with his brain wracked senseless by those four simple words.

He wasn't sure how much time passed there, but the world seemed to politely wait for the two young hearts to finish their discussion. Smiling slightly, Moka said quietly, "I can't keep going, dancing around it anymore. I want to stand by your side, without feeling like you might disappear from mine any second. I..."

"I'm not going anywhere, you know," Tsukune choked out, his throat felt like a half dozen frogs had decided to make a nest there, yet he still managed to speak, if only just barely, "I'm not going to disappear."

"I... didn't mean literally," Moka whispered, averting her eyes from Tsukune and turning away, towards one of the nearby racks of sporting goods, "I just meant..." she paused for a moment, as if struggling with the words, "I meant that I didn't want you to lose you to Kurumu, or Mizore."

Realization swept over Tsukune at that very moment, hitting him like a lone tree on a snowy mountainside in the middle of an avalanche. Up until now, his life at Yokai Academy had mostly been spent in the center of those three girls attentions. Most of the time, it had all seemed too silly, like some kind of big joke. Monsters from legendary tales and mythology became all too human, as he slowly came to know the beings who learned and laid hearth within it's eccentrically crafted walls. It was almost like it wasn't real, like one day he'd wake up to find it'd just been one long, long dream so full of wonder. It was something that had touched the back of Tsukune's mind at times, a fanciful train of thought that left him both sad and amused.

Though here and now, before him, was a situation that seemed too impossible to be real, even by the standards he'd come to accept. In his heart, there was something new budding up that he couldn't quite explain, but knew instinctively. Fear. A fear that no matter what he did, the crossroads that were laid out before him would bring a change to this world he'd come to care for so much. One that, no matter what he did, threatened to tear apart everything he'd come to know about this dream so full of wonder.

Yet, he couldn't lie to himself. From the moment he'd laid eyes on the girl, who now was, in no uncertain terms, professing her love for him, he'd felt a growing affection. Many times, in the privacy of his own thoughts, he'd admitted to himself that he was in love with Moka Akashiya. Was this not, at this very moment, what he'd wanted all along?

"Moka, I..." Tsukune started to say, his voice shaking with anxiety and uncertainty. He had no idea what to say, or how to articulate what he felt. Did he even know what he felt?

"It's okay," Moka said, turning towards Tsukune with a smile on her face, "It's unfair of me to thrust this all on you so suddenly, and expect you to answer me right away." She closed the gap between them, and placed a hand softly against his cheek, "just... please, whatever your answer is, I need to know before we return to our homes."

Tsukune couldn't speak. Her hand felt so tender, and so warm. All he could do to reply was nod weakly.

* * *

**Soulborn School of Scintillating Subjects and Supernatural Species**

_Serving scholarly sentients in superb submissions of salient specification!_

_Salutations, dear reader! _

_As the scribe of this sumptuous saga, I would like to introduce you to a small segment called the Soulborn School of Scintillating Subjects and Supernatural Species! Within this speck of soliloquy we __shall sermon a strong supply of shadowy schemes and suspect nomenclature. The Soulborn School is likely to become a staple as the song of the Soulborn spins on towards it's inevitable date with destiny. As such, there will be many uncontaminated idioms that require an infinitesimal sound of speech to solve. So sit back and sip from the stream of wisdom as she slides, in style, straight down your nose. _

_And never you fear, such speeches shall be seldom. It would be a stroke of tragedy for the ink slinger to overtake the stars of the show as the stories central attraction. _

_Signed in solemn and incommensurable servitude_

_Last Seraph_

_Sugegasa_: A conical straw hat worn in many East Asian nations. Shunsui Kyoraku is known for wearing one. Also known as a _sakkat_, among many, many other names.

_165,000 yen is about 2,015 dollars._

_Koji_: I could not recall, from memory, a single instance of the man appearing during either of Rosario + Vampire's serializations, so I'm kind of just winging it with him. In my interpretation, I pictured him as a real man's man, who has strong morals, a strong sense of responsibility, and a strong urge to see things go boom. This Koji likes fast cars, the entire wide world of sports (but especially baseball), loud music, and all manner of energetic gatherings. He dislikes things that are overly subtle, like complex strategy games, deep literature, and most forms of abstract art. Despite his fondness for powerful things, his most prized possession is a 1/6th scale model of the French Venus di Milo statue that he made himself several years ago. He has a deep love for his family and would do absolutely anything to see them happy.


	5. Chapter 4

_So glad I decided to split this up. Would have made chapter 3 over 11,000 words. That's way too big. __

_Thanks for the positive feedback so far! It's highly encouraging. I hope to have the next chapter up for you guys before the end of this coming weekend. Please read, review, and enjoy!_

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.

I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.

Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.

This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Chapter 4**: A broken menagerie

* * *

A few hours later, Ichigo, Tsukune, Moka, and Koji arrived at a private countryside beach that had been reserved to them for the afternoon. The reckless driving of Tsukune's father left the three teens little time to enjoy the sights of the island as they left the main city limits of Honolulu, not that either Tsukune or Moka seemed to mind. The two had hardly spoken on the ride over, even to cry out in fear as Koji nearly sent them into a ditch for the fourth time that day. Totally absorbed in his driving, Koji paid their behavior no mention, instead babbling on about the wonderful time he had shooting rifles at the indoor range, and the lovely new compound longbow he'd purchased at the store. He might not be able to buy guns to bring them home, but he'd been assured by the clerk that a bow and arrow set should be no problem. Of course, the clerk was hardly an expert when it came to international law, but it was enough to draw Koji into making the purchase, regardless of the legality.

While Koji might not have noticed the distinct change in character of his son and the pink haired girl who sat next to him, Ichigo did. There was an atmosphere of palpable awkwardness in the car that irritated the fiery haired warrior to the point of forcing a genuine scowl onto his face. Part of him wanted to drill the two of them right then and there about what they'd done to upset each other, but he decided it wasn't his place to get involved in the affairs of what were barely more than strangers. Especially not during a car ride from hell.

The private beach was something straight out of a pure work of art. Cyan blue met porcelain white as a the waves of the sea swept up against the warm sand of the island coast in calm waves that might make a surfer pout. More a cove than an open beach, the entire northern, eastern, and western edges were overlooked by a tall rock face on all sides, with the ocean straight to the south. A sheer vertical drop of about three hundred feet made the beach safe, secluded, and private. Those who wished to get down to the beach had to park their vehicles on a small blacktop parking lot just off the side of the main road, along the northern cliff, and travel down a long, crisscrossing flight of stairs made of wood and stone.

At the bottom of the stairs were a pair of modern buildings made of wood, marked with the universal symbols for male and female. These restrooms doubled as a set of changing rooms for beach goers, complete with a few simple storage lockers for housing ones day clothes while enjoying the seafront in earnest. Next to the buildings were a pair of large charcoal grills, each set on wheels as to be better moved around by whomever might be using the beach at the time.

As it would turn out, they were not the first group to arrive. Kasumi, Mizore, Yukari, and Kurumu were busy frolicking about, each involved in their own set of activities. Mizore, Yukari, and Kurumu were busy enjoying the ocean together, though Mizore was compelled to take occasional breaks from the heat and hide in the shade to keep from overheating. Kasumi, on the other hand, was busy setting something up at the grill.

"We're here!" Koji cried out, waving his hand at his wife from atop the cliff face, who replied in turn with a wave of her own, "we'll be right down!"

True to his word, the human man and his charge made their way down the stairs, towards where his wife was toiling away at the grill. There, atop a large counter space lined with plastic wrap was a spread of different sort of meats and vegetables that were all to be grilled for the consumption of those present. Small containers of seasoning could be seen, here and there, along with a few cooking utensils, such as a pair of metal cooking tongs and a simple spatula.

"Did you all have fun on your little trip?" Kasumi asked, a stupid grin on her face as Koji crossed over to her, and in a fluid motion wrapped her up in his arms, a large cooking fork in her hands and all, and gave her a soft kiss.

"It was a blast," Koji said, his left arm still around her hip as she blushed like a lovestruck schoolgirl, "wasn't it, everyone!"

In their own ways, Moka, Ichigo, and Tsukune all deadpanned, though Moka's was tinged with a bit of an awkward, sweet smile, and Tsukune's a slight, hesitant nod.

"See?" Koji went on, not missing a beat, "they had the time of their lives!"

"Oh my," Kasumi cooed, a hand over her face as she stifled a giggle, "I suppose they weren't quite as interested as you were in seeing slugs of metal shot from a cannon, where they, dear?"

"Er..." Koji stammered, forcing a quiet bit of laughter from the three onlooking teenagers, "I don't know what you're talking about! They didn't have any cannons there!"

"No?" Kasumi gasped, "well, what took you so long to get here, then? I thought you must have at least fired half the ammunition in Hawaii."

"Tsu-ku-ne!" Cried a voice from the beach, as Kurumu came galloping up from the surf towards the conversing group by the grill. Dressed in a hot pink, two piece swimsuit, her outfit was cut more conservatively than those who knew her might have guessed she'd wear, as it bared only a little more skin to onlooking eyes than the one worn by Mizore.

Which, if you think about it, was still quite a bit of skin of skin to show, nevertheless.

"Kurumu?" Tsukune said, holding in a sigh as the succubus charged towards him, her arms outstretched wide. He knew what was about to happen, it was always the same, and he really, really didn't feel like having his head enveloped by Kurumu's chest at the moment. Doubly so when it'd be in front of his parents. Holding up a hand in front of his person, Tsukune gestured for the blue haired girl to stop, but critical mass had already been reached. For Kurumu, there was no turning back. She _would_ press Tsukune's body against hers, and to her there was no debating the point.

Unfortunately for her, nobody told Tsukune that. At the last moment, just before the succubus would have latched unto him in her suffocating embrace, Tsukune deftly backpedaled out of the way of the succubus. The motion was performed with such a sudden ease that Kurumu failed to notice, until long after she'd practically crushed a wide eyed Ichigo between the sinuous curves of her breasts.

"Pervert!" Kurumu whined as she tossed Ichigo backwards with a huff, accidentally using an inhuman amount of force on the young human and hurling him back several yards, towards the jagged rock wall.

Tensions spiked, as Kurumu realized just what she'd done. With the amount of strength she had used, there was no telling where Ichigo would stop or how hard he'd hit when he got there. After all, he was human, not a monster. No matter how good of shape he appeared to be in, that fact didn't change. To make matters worse, Tsukune's parent weren't in on the truth regarding his friends. If the orange haired boy got hurt because of her carelessness, there would be questions, and not just from the family of the injured human.

It was to the shock of everyone there, then, when Ichigo contorted in mid fall and managed to catch himself on the ground, skidding to a halt just inches from slamming face first into the rock wall. He had been hurtling backwards, towards the rock face, when he suddenly shifted hard with both of his arms, forcing his body to spin 180 degrees so that his torso faced the ground. In the same motion, he thrust all four of his limbs towards the ground, digging into the soft beach soil to slow, and eventually stop his movement altogether. When he stood up, a tiny bit of blood dripped down the tip of his left ring finger, the friction having scraped away a thin layer of flesh just above base of the nail. Everyone held their breath, awaiting the inevitable tirade of accusations and threats.

"What the hell do you mean, pervert!" Ichigo yelled as he pointed an accusing finger at Kurumu, shattering everyone's expectations, "**you're** the one who decided to try and crush my head on your chest like a nutcracker!"

Kurumu was struck dumb. Had he not noticed how **hard** she'd thrown him? No, the bigger question was, how the hell did he manage to pull off that level of acrobatics? Certainly, she'd seen humans perform similar feats on television before, but they were always in elite martial arts, or gymnastic competitions. As far as she could tell, this orange haired boy was _neither_. She could simply not comprehend how he'd done it.

"S-sorry!" Kurumu replied, snapping back to reality when she noticed that all eyes were now fixed squarely upon her, her face flushing red, "I didn't mean to shove you, I-I was just surprised because Tsukune moved, that's all!"

Ichigo huffed, but decided to leave it at that. Even with his preternatural reflexes, his body had barely been quick enough to respond in time to prevent colliding with the wall. He didn't have the incredible speed or strength that his powers had given him in the past, but now, he was quite thankful that losing his shinigami powers had done nothing to diminish his perception of velocity or survival instincts. At the speed he was flung by Kurumu, if he'd collided with that wall, there was a sizable chance he'd have found himself in the hospital, or worse, if he landed at the right angle.

To Kurumu's credit, she'd kept herself quite collected, despite her embarrassment. Under different circumstances, she might have yelled back at Ichigo, even though he had every right to be upset with her. After all, it was decidedly _not _his fault that she'd tossed him. It helped that she felt oddly betrayed by Tsukune, who's last minute movement caused her to grasp hold of Ichigo by mistake. Something had happened while they were away on their little side-trip, and Kurumu had a growing worry in her heart that whatever it was, it wasn't something that would please her.

* * *

The tension passed quickly, as Ichigo proved to be surprisingly forgiving towards the blue haired girl. There were no awkward questions, though Kurumu mused she'd found a fan in Tsukune's father, Koji, who marveled at her impressive strength for a girl her size. After a brief moment where he and Tsukune offered their aid to Kasumi, who needed the boys to gather up some lighter fluid and charcoal for the grill from a storage shed up in the parking lot, the two boys found themselves sent to the changing rooms to join the girls playing in the ocean.

Ichigo really wasn't one to get himself worked up over these sort of things. _'Playing',_ as his sister Yuzu had so put it, just wasn't exactly the sort of thing he did. At least, not if he wanted to maintain the image he'd so carefully crafted for himself. It would be a deathblow to the bad-boy aura he'd so painstakingly put together if his family walked onto the beach and saw him splashing water at girls in swimsuits, playing volleyball, or commencing in whatever stereotypical things people did when they went to the beach. _'No',_ Ichigo reasoned to himself, _'I'm just going to go for a swim, and then I'll go back to reading Macbeth.'_

On the other hand, Tsukune's thoughts revolved around a much more complex matter. His mind still swam about, as if detached from reality in the wake of Moka's confession. _"She loves me..."_ he thought to himself, emotions melting together in a confused, indecisive soup, _"I... I've been waiting so long to hear those words, but... why? Why am I not jumping for joy? Why do I feel... so strange?"_

"Oi, Tsukune," Ichigo called over towards the brown haired boy, who was still stuck in his reverie.

_"I love her, I know I do, I've known it for forever now," _Tsukune thought to himself, ignoring Ichigo completely. His trembling hand gently grasped the handle of his locker as he pushed it closed, his thoughts marching on as if in a trance, _"but... why can't I say it to her? Why can't I even say it to myself out loud?"_

"Hey, Tsukune!"

_"What am I so afraid of?" _Tsukune wondered, shaking his head slightly as he slowly stepped towards the doorway back to the beach, _"Am I afraid of making myself so vulnerable to one person? Am I afraid of showing everyone what I really feel? What? What am I so afraid of?"_

**"LISTEN TO ME, DAMNIT!"**

Without warning, the flight of a shoe interrupted Tsukune's musings, striking him in the side of the head with enough force to nearly knock him off balance. Rubbing the side of his head, Tsukune turned to face Ichigo, his emotional soup adding a new ingredient to the mix – anger. At least, until he finally heard what Ichigo was trying to tell him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo demanded, both of his hands on his head as he looked at Tsukune, aghast, "You don't even have your bathing suit on!"

Looking down, Tsukune finally realized the truth that Ichigo had been trying to convey to him for almost a full minute. He stood there, just before the doorway to the beach, totally naked. It was enough to almost make the troubled boy pass out.

After a brief moment spent getting his green colored swim trunks on, Tsukune sat across from Ichigo in the middle of the locker room. Ichigo briefly considered trying to break down the process of putting on pants to Tsukune, but decided that such a remark would just be too snide. _"Have I always __been this snarky?" _Ichigo thought briefly to himself as he crossed his arms, eyeballing Tsukune with a single open eye and a scowl on his face, _"and what the hell should I do with him? He's a wreck, if he goes out there he's half likely to forget to come up for air if he goes in the water."_

Ichigo sighed. He should just let the boys parent's handle it, of course. But somehow, something in his gut told him that neither Koji or Kasumi had noticed the depth of their son's strange behavior yet, if at all. Something had to be done about it, and while he hardly enjoyed this sort of thing, it seemed to Ichigo that someone needed to say something to get this guy's head out of the clouds.

"Alright, I don't know what the hell happened between you and Moka when I left to go try on these swimming shorts," Ichigo declared bluntly, jabbing at what he thought was the heart of the issue, "But it's left you a complete mess. You need to get a hold of yourself."

"I-I know, Kurosaki, I'd just embarrass myself if I went outside right now," Tsukune replied meekly, not sure if he was being read a riot act, or if Ichigo was trying to ask him what was wrong.

Ichigo frowned, struggling to come up with more words to say to keep the ball rolling. His mind desperately clawed at his imagination, as a single question raced through his mind: _what would Rukia say?_

"This isn't about embarrassing yourself," Ichigo said, coughing slightly as he imagined the pint sized shinigami ranting at him after he did something stupid. He left out the various jabs at his intelligence that he was sure Rukia would have added in, as he continued, "whatever was said between the two of you was so important that it made you forget to put your pants on in public, and people don't get that confused over just any little thing."

Tsukune's eyes were locked intently on Ichigo. Obviously, his words were having some effect, though the complete and total dedication of Tsukune's attention to what he was saying made Ichigo more than a little nervous. He paused, his mind racing to make his mental picture of Rukia speed through conversations regarding bad pictures of hollows and deformed bunny rabbits, and back to Tsukune's problem.

"Bah," Ichigo cried, his mental image of Rukia falling apart faster than you can say 'shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu', "I guess what I'm trying to say is to not sweat the small stuff. If you said something stupid, then apologize. If she said something stupid, tell her what pissed you off so you can work it out. If you sit around all day and try to rationalize whatever is bothering you, you'll just end up walking off without your pants again."

Tsukune blinked, having not expected such remarks from Ichigo. It made sense, in a way. If he kept worrying about everything that _could_ happen, he wouldn't go anywhere with anything. Ever since coming to Yokai Academy, he'd wanted this very thing to happen. Why was he hesitating? It was just as Ichigo said, if he tried to rationalize everything away, he'd just end up messing up everything regardless.

"I get what you mean," Tsukune said, smiling softly, "Thank you, Kurosaki, I know what I need to do now."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Ichigo replied, eying Tsukune suspiciously. That was way too easy. There was no way that could have worked, could it? No, he was going to go out there and do something outrageous, then blame him for it. Ichigo was certain of it. What else could he say though? It took everything he had to come up with _that, _and it was by no means great advice_. _Sure, Ichigo wasn't all that bad at reading peoples more base emotions when it came down to it, but when it came to the deeper stuff that dwelt beneath the surface, he was about as clumsy as was possible. Standing, the orange haired boy resolved that there was nothing else he could do, and said, "Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

The water off the Hawaiian beach was truly something else. Warm, pristine, translucent, and tinted with a faint cyan luster, it bore an almost ethereal quality that was pleasant and mystifying. For Ichigo, it proved to be a worthwhile distraction from the background noise of three girls lusting over a single boy. At first it seemed a little funny to him, although there was no way Ichigo would have admitted to thinking such a thing. Now, after having put up with it for several hours over the past two days, any humor he might have felt towards the situation had drained away. In it's place, he found himself filled by a strong desire to find a random vasto lorde to discuss the finer points of epic poetry. Or perhaps a twelfth division representative, so he could volunteer himself to Mayuri as experimental fodder. That would work just as well, too.

It was really more two girls lusting over Tsukune than three, though it made little difference to Ichigo. For the most part, Moka was relatively subdued at the beach. She seemed afraid of the water, Ichigo noted, and it seemed like whatever had been affecting Tsukune was still bothering her just as clearly as it had been bothering the brown haired boy.

Speaking of Tsukune, he had found himself caught in the center of a tug of war between Mizore and Kurumu. It would start when one of the two would pull Tsukune off to the side for a moment (typically, Kurumu), drawing the ire of the other. Said other would march over, say something at varying levels of irritation, and after some words from Tsukune, they would all go back to whatever group activity they were doing. It was a well rehearsed dance that all of the parties seemed familiar with, and Ichigo couldn't help but wonder just how often they did this sort of thing.

If the orange haired boy had to draw a comparison to something, it reminded him of the mating habits of pack animals, only reversed. Instead of the males fighting for dominance with each other for the right to mate with the female, the females were fighting for dominance with each other for the right to mate with the male. It was all far more trouble than it was worth, Ichigo thought. If he was Tsukune, he reasoned, he'd have either just picked a girl already and been done with it, or told them all to back off. It was a shallow rational, drawn entirely from how things seemed on the surface, but it was one that Ichigo felt good about.

He had no idea what kind of circumstances made Tsukune willing to put up... no, that wasn't right, because in some ways, it seemed like he enjoyed it at times. Still, Ichigo didn't know why Tsukune kept up this charade with the girls, he didn't strike Ichigo as some kind of womanizer. Maybe he just didn't have a strong enough personality to tell people no? Ichigo didn't know, and decided it wasn't worth dwelling on. Romance wasn't something he was good at, and his ability to gauge what others were feeling was passable at best. The most he had experienced in that regard was...

Ichigo shook his head. He didn't want to think about _that_ right now.

"Why so cross, Orange-peel?" came the child-like voice of a young girl from behind Ichigo, startling him out of his thoughts. Yukari floated there in a frilly purple one piece swim suit, her trademark witch hat still in place as she floated upon a white inner-tube, "you'll get wrinkles if you scowl all the time, you know."

Ichigo's scowl deepened, "what kind of a name is Orange-peel?" Ichigo growled at her as he turned to face the witch.

"Well, it'd be boring if I just made a strawberry joke, so I thought I'd get creative," she sneered, kicking a little bit of water at the now deadpanning teenager across from her.

"How considerate of you," Ichigo said flatly. He briefly considered flipping the little girl in her inner-tube, but decided simply swimming away would work much better. Unfortunately, Yukari had no intention of letting him escape that easily.

"Isn't it ugly, Orange-peel?" she went on, paddling beside Ichigo as he backstroked along the shoreline, "all of those scruffy looking girls trying to steal Tsukune away from Moka and me." She cupped one hand thoughtfully beneath her chin as she paused in mid-speech, before her eyes lit up as she said, "You're a boy, why don't you do something suave and pull their attention away from Tsukune for me!"

"Not interested," Ichigo said curtly, as he dove beneath the surface and swam away from Yukari, who tried to stomp her feet uselessly in the water.

"Oh come on, what kind of a boy are you?" Yukari demanded at Ichigo as he surfaced from the water a few yards away, "Wait, don't tell me you're...?"

"I'm just not interested in manipulating someone for you," Ichigo replied, his tone both harsh and condescending. His eyes cut through Yukari's gaze, in a way that made the young witch subconsciously wince.

"Why not?" She yelled at him, as he turned and swam away.

* * *

"Okay, Tsukune, what's this about?" Kurumu huffed, looking mostly worried, though slightly peeved at the brown haired boy, "You've been acting weird all day! What's wrong?"

Kurumu, along with Mizore and Moka, had been gathered by the younger of the two Aono men in a secluded alcove along the western wall of the cove. To the lavender and blue haired young women, Tsukune had been acting quite odd. Only Moka knew the precise reason behind his awkward attitude, and his less-than-usual warmth of personality. If the other girls had known, there was a real chance they'd dunk the sealed vampire in seawater, and proceed to bisect her. Fortunately, their ignorance to the reality of what had happened just a few hours prior kept her from any sort of mortal danger.

Not that Tsukune would have allowed it to happen regardless.

None of them, however, knew why they'd been gathered here. Neither did they know about the conversation between the boys in the locker room. So the enigmatically serene, yet steeled expression of Tsukune Aono was something that none of the girls could fully understand.

"Are you alright, Tsukune?" Moka asked, her voice deceptively quiet as she fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable in the situation. It was something that drew a sidelong glance from Mizore, who's visage contorted ever so slightly into a frown. She didn't like any of this, and the hot weather made her already agitated mood ten times worse.

"I'm fine," Tsukune assured, his gaze shifting between the girls as he considered Ichigo's advice one last time. It wasn't exactly what he'd meant, but he felt he knew the spirit of what the boy had said as plain as day. He couldn't keep wallowing in the pool of indecisiveness and conflicting emotions anymore. He wasn't being fair to these girls, and he wasn't being fair to himself. The manner in which he'd pulled the three girls over _probably_ wasn't a good idea, and if he'd taken more time to think about it, he'd have realized that. Love did strange things to people, though, and Tsukune definitely wasn't thinking straight. He hadn't been since Moka had told him those four words, and that was why he'd decided Ichigo's words meant, _'tell all of the girls how you feel as soon as possible'_. He took a deep breath, it was now or never.

"I wanted to apologize to the three of you," the faces of all three girls deformed into a mask of confusion. Tsukune's heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, but he continued on without missing a beat, "for a long time now, you've been so kind to me. All three of you are precious friends to me, friends I want to keep forever. That's why... that's why this has been so hard."

"Tsukune?" Kurumu asked, thoroughly confused. The blue haired succubus still had no idea what Tsukune was getting at, though Mizore's face told a different tale. _She _understood, plain as day what was about to happen. She was afraid, hopeful, and angry at once.

_'This is her fault...'_ Mizore thought as she shot a sidelong glare at the pink haired vampire, the fear she felt in her chest growing as realization slowly dawned upon her.

"I'm sorry, Kurumu, Mizore, but I can't let you keep pursuing me this way," Tsukune said, causing Kurumu's expression to twist from confusion to a mix of hurt and fear, like someone she loved was about to run her over with a truck. Someone named Tsukune, "I, don't want to string you along... when I've already made my decision."

_'It's all her fault...'_ Mizore thought, as her body trembled like a leaf in a wind tunnel. Her thoughts, her sight, even her very heart felt as if it was masked by an ominous, terrifying fog. Her body was heavy, and she there was a growing nausea in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to jab a knife-shaped icicle between Moka's shoulders, climb the side of the nearest cliff to leap off, and find the nearest bed and weep all at once. Her body wouldn't obey any of her commands, though. All she could do was stand there, her eyes transfixed by the object of her affection as he slowly, systematically told her that he didn't want her.

Kurumu's reaction was much more mild, by comparison. Tears began to slowly well up in her eyes, as she understood what was coming. She was angry, embarrassed, and hurt all at once. Her head was a jumble of different, unfocused thoughts as Tsukune methodically was rejecting her. Compared to Mizore, though, she could at least still think, and she was contemplating neither murder or suicide. _'This... can't be happening! Tsukune is my destined one, the person who I was born to be with... isn't he? Isn't he?'_

At that very moment in time, three things happened at once.

In the most somber, sincere tone he could muster, Tsukune told the three girls that he was in love with Moka Akashiya, who was beaming with a happiness that seemed to shine brighter than the sun.

Even before Tsukune was finished speaking, Moka bolted to him, intent on wrapping him up in her arms that very instant. A small clicking noise echoed out from the ground as Moka crossed the beach sand.

As Moka's foot left the ground, a rapidly spinning silver disc shot up into the air, coming to rest in motion at roughly chest level to the three teens. It made a shrill whistling sound, like the noise emitted by a steel circular saw cutting through plastic, and shimmered with a translucent emerald glow. In their emotionally compromised state, none of the girls or Tsukune had reflexes that were quick enough to fully register the device as it violently began to wobble. In all, it's entire flight lasted for only a few milliseconds.

Then, to Tsukune Aono, Moka Akashiya, Mizore Shirayuki, and Kurumu Kurono, it was as if the world around them exploded.

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki was already a veteran of more battles than most people would fight in a lifetime. He had engaged beings with monstrous proportions, phenomenal power, and terrifying abilities. For a time, he had become one of the most powerful beings that existed, but in the end he gave it all away for a chance to spare the world from the tyranny of a brutal madman.

The experience Ichigo gained from those battles didn't leave him after he used the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho, however. Even before Moka tripped the land mine, the orange haired boys intuition knew something was wrong. Very wrong. In an onslaught of motion, Ichigo grabbed unto the back of Yukari's inner-tube, and before the young witch could protest, started swimming away from shore with every ounce of strength he could muster. That decision proved to be something that saved his life.

When the land mine went off, it covered the area near the shoreline where Moka, Tsukune, Kurumu, and Mizore had been standing in a massive fireball. The area in which Ichigo and Yukari had been swimming would have been well inside the ensuing shock wave's kill zone, or the area in which an ordinary human being can be killed by the sheer force generated by the explosion alone.

Horror filled the teenager's expression as smoke billowed from the sight of the explosion, obscuring his vision of those who had been standing inside it's boundaries. It was quiet now, only the sound of a distant smoldering and the surf reached Ichigo's ears as he waded through the seawater. Such an explosion wouldn't have even registered as a blip on his radar if he still held his powers, but the others? As far as Ichigo could tell, the force of the explosion had all but vaporized them.

_'Shit!' _Ichigo mentally swore as he held unto Yukari in a one armed vice grip against his chest, refusing to let the small child out from his grasp until he knew the danger had passed. His warrior instincts told him that this wasn't the end. That beach wasn't safe, at all, and he wasn't about to let a girl no older than his sisters go back there to her death.

"NO!" Yukari screamed, as she struggled to get free from the human's strong grip. As a witch, Yukari possessed incredible powers, but physical strength that exceeded Ichigo's wasn't one of them. Without her magic wand, which she left back in the car, she couldn't even use those powers anyway.

"Calm down!" Ichigo hissed, squeezing the girls shoulder tightly with the arm he was using to hold onto her, "there's nothing we can do."

"They're not dead!" Yukari pleaded, gesturing to the explosion frantically, "that sort of thing wouldn't kill them, but they need our help!"

"No way, that beach is way too dangerous!" Ichigo shot back, barely able to hold the panicking little girl in place with his single free arm.

"For a human, maybe, but not for me!" Yukari growled, before she paled, realizing she just accidentally let the cat out of the bag.

Ichigo winced. There was a pain in the bottom of his stomach that he knew all too well, and Yukari's words outlined it all too perfectly. _Dangerous for a human, and he was human._ He sighed, and said, "are you sure you can do it?"_  
_

"A-ah... uhm," Yukari stammered, uncertain of what to make at Ichigo's non-response to her admission, "As long as I'm not in the middle of one of those, I'll be fine. I just need to get to the car, i-if I can do that, I can help them."

"... alright, I'll-"

Neither Yukari or Ichigo heard the last words that came out of Ichigo's mouth, as a deep, guttural roar pierced the soundless still. An object, roughly humanoid in shape and build, came tumbling down off the side of the eastern cliff and unto the beach below with a thundering crash.

"**Outstanding!**" it yelled, as the hideous creature stood up from it's crouching position. It was inhumanly tall, standing at what Ichigo reasoned was probably about twenty feet at the shoulder. It was dark blue, with scales that had a decidedly amphibious texture, that covered it from head to toe. It's head lacked a neck to support it, instead jutting straight forward, out from between it's shoulders as if on a third ball joint on it's collar bone. It's face was angular and bony, and covered in tribal markings made of blood. It's huge arms hung gangly down to it's feet, ending in webbed hands that looked big enough to crush the head of a human instantly if it managed to grab on. The blue behemoths legs, which while still larger than the limbs of any human being, were disproportionately thin compared to the rest of the top heavy creature. Most frighteningly, the creature's back, from the shoulders down, was covered in a coat of barbed spines. Each of the wicked looking protrusions was about a yard in length, and serrated in such a way that even grabbing hold of them would probably maim the flesh of whatever being was unfortunate enough to touch them.

It wore almost no clothing, save for a poorly crafted loin cloth and belt around it's waste. Strapped to it was what looked like a longsword appropriate to a human-sized creature, made of a copper colored material. To a beast that size, Ichigo reasoned, it was probably nothing more than a utility knife.

"**I never thought my monster seeking mine would go off so quickly,**" It bellowed, holding it's belly with one of it's over sized paws as it laughed in a decidedly human gesture, "**not that I'm complaining or anything. More food is good food!**"

_'Tch, what does he think he is, a hollow?'_ Ichigo thought as Yukari trembled, rage filling up the entirety of her little body as the creature went on it's merry way, oblivious to the two swimming just offshore.

"Get out of here, Ichigo," she said quietly, though the orange haired boy, "this isn't your world, there's no need for you to get involved in this."

"Excuse me?" Ichigo cried, his lips twisting upwards into a thin, almost sadistic smile, "you don't really think I'd abandon a little girl to face something that ugly alone, do you?"

"This isn't a joke!" Yukari growled, turning to face the orange haired human, "that thing is a real, living, breathing monster! Even a glancing blow from those arms would kill you instantly!"

"He wouldn't be the first," Ichigo replied cryptically, his eyes hardening as he watched the blue monstrosity slowly hobble across the beach, stopping only briefly to laugh at the stunned bodies of what Ichigo could only presume at this distance belonged to Koji and Kasumi. "Listen, Yukari. If you had whatever it is of yours that you left in the car, could you fight that thing and win?"

She nodded hesitantly, still unsure of what to make to the human's non-reaction to all of this, "it's not a even a high class monster, I should be able to beat it easily as long as it doesn't have more of those mines hidden around."

"Good," Ichigo said quietly, as he closed his eyes, "I'm going to swim up to shore. Wait back here until I get it's attention, then swim up behind it and get to the car. I don't know how long I can avoid that thing getting a hold on me, so if you don't want to kill me, you'd better hurry."

"Y-you can't be serious!" Yukari stuttered, as Ichigo started to swim back towards shore. When he didn't stop, she called out, "you're a human! You're just going to die if you try to provoke that thing!"

When he still didn't stop, she simply started to swim after him.

* * *

The blue monster loomed over the smoldering wreckage of his mine, a loving smile stuck upon his hideous face as he examined it's handiwork. Four bodies, all of whom were clearly breathing and still alive. One of the girls, who's lavender hair had all but been totally burned away by the blast was the worst off. Her now nude form was badly burnt along the front of her left leg and up her belly, though minor scorch marks lined the entirety of her skin. Most horrifyingly about her wounds, was that her entire right leg and her right hand were simply _gone._ Oddly though, the beast noted, was that her entire body had a sheen to it, like an ice sculpture sitting in the sun. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was melting.

The blue haired girl definitely fared the best. Most of her clothes had been burnt away by the blast – a quality that all of his victims shared, though tiny bits of her tattered bathing suit remained. She must have been able to leap away from the blast at the last second, but not far enough to escape harm. _'Certainly not enough to retain any modesty'_ the creature added to himself with a sick chuckle. On closer examination, she'd only suffered minor burns along her hands and forearms, the concussive force of the explosion must have been responsible for her unconscious state. A thin line of drool slid down from it's lips, as he fantasized over what he could do with this intact prey before he decided to enjoy her in a more... culinary sense.

Of the other two, only the pink haired female was recognizable, though her face was burnt so badly that it would be difficult for anyone that knew her to identify her. The other body, the male of the four, was covered completely in second and third degree burns. His clothing was completely obliterated, it's breathing was shallow, and ragged. A thin gleam of reflected sunlight shone off something metallic attached to the boy's wrist, catching the monster's interest. Leaning down, it yanked up the thing, along with the boy it was connected to, and examined it more carefully.

"**A lock?**" The creature rumbled, using a single massive finger to poke at it inquisitively. As if in response, some of the chain links connecting it to it's owner seemed to glow. Frowning, the creature prodded them more forcefully. He was bound and determined to resolve the mystery of what was attached to his new meal.

Abruptly, the burnt hand being held by the monster twitched, turned, and latched unto the center finger of the beasts three fingered hand with such force that the burnt nubs of his fingertips penetrated through the creatures scales and into it's flesh.

"**What the!**" the monster yelped, so busy staring at the hand that now held his middle finger that he failed to notice the links connecting the locket to the boy's wrist _shatter_, and disappear.

* * *

**Soulborn School of Scintillating Subjects and Supernatural Species**

_Serving scholarly sentients in superb submissions of salient specification!_

_Monster Seeking Mine_: This is one nasty toy. Pretty much, the way it works is that it wanders near the shoreline, underground, of the spot it was planted. If it detects a monster within a certain range of it, it sends out a signal to it's owner, and places itself in close proximity to the monster. It then waits until a monster steps on it, then proceeds to detonate. The force of the detonation is enough to do roast an Abrams tank, and turn a regular human being into a gory paste if subjected to the explosion. The fact that the Rosario crew survived, despite being horribly wounded, is a testament to their durability. More details on the Monster Seeking Mine next chapter.


	6. Chapter 5

_Special thanks to the 4,500+ people who have read Soulborn so far. In case any of you were wondering, no, this is **not** what I had in mind when I said I was hoping to update next week! As I told a reviewer recently, the massive delay in this chapter was a combination of one of the worst case of writer's block I've ever had, combined with an overstretched schedule. That said, I'm hoping to get back to a normal routine now, and I'm hoping for updates to be coming back into a regular schedule of an update once every one to two weeks._

_I have a question for the lot of you readers, though. Should I look into getting a beta reader for Soulborn? I've toyed with the idea for a while now, but I'm a little bit hesitant about whether or not it'd really make it better. What do you readers think?_

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.

I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.

Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.

This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Chapter 5**: Violent Nocturne

* * *

Once upon a time, Ichigo had heard in passing an old German proverb that went, 'an angel without, a devil within'. In essence, the old idiom was meant to provoke thought to the danger of lies and deception. Stored away somewhere within his subconscious, Ichigo hadn't given the few scraps of language a second thought, up until that very moment. How that small part of him managed to recall such an obscure piece of information would have been amusing if the circumstances were different.

Off in the distance on the opposite side of the beach, Tsukune was locked in combat with the hulking horror that had nearly killed him and his friends. At least, one could loosely call it combat, as the battle so far had been completely one sided. It would be more accurate to say Tsukune was in the process of systematically _massacring_ the barbed behemoth that Yukari had identified as a _Scraken,_ with his bare hands_._ Initially, Ichigo had taken this as a good thing. It wasn't until he heard Yukari's warning that he realized just how bad the situation was.

_"Tsukune's not a normal monster, like we are, he's something else, something that had to use a seal to keep himself in check," _Yukari had told him, her growing desperation becoming more and more apparent after every blow Tsukune hit upon the azure assailant, _"and if that seal broke completely, then..."_

Ichigo clicked his tongue in irritation. The situation was quickly escalating into a worst case scenario. He and Yukari had come ashore after Tsukune and the Scraken's battle had moved to the opposite end of the cove, and were now standing on the smoldering blemish where their attacker had sprung his trap. He needed to move the wounded girls off the beach before the battle shifted back to this side of the beach, and once they were safe, get them to medical attention as soon as possible. He had no idea what to do for the one fighting off the would-be beach butcher, as Tsukune was apparently out of control, and that condition could very possibly be permanent if whatever was sealing his powers was permanently destroyed. On top of that, Yukari was beginning to panic, leaving him without any answers regarding what the hell a _Scraken_ was, and about what to do with the lavender haired girl... _who appeared to be melting__?_

Looking around, Ichigo appraised the circumstances. He'd hoped after seeing Tsukune rush into action that some of the girls might be able to walk, or at least be conscious. Yet when he arrived near the gently smoking scar on the formerly untarnished cove, those hopes were dashed. It appeared he wouldn't have to deal with that Scraken thing attacking them at any point in the foreseeable future, thanks to Tsukune. Judging by Yukari's words, though, there was a chance that if Tsukune killed their assailant, he could end up turning on _them._ If that happened, Ichigo had little doubts that there would be nothing he could do, and none of them would survive. Best case scenario, he quickly realized, was that his father would show up that very moment, kill the Scraken, and have the good sense to restrain Tsukune without killing him on the spot along with the assailant. Yet Isshin seemed bound and determined to _not_ show up to help.

It was then that Ichigo spotted Tsukune's parents, Koji and Kasumi. They were still conscious, albeit huddling in terror behind the changing house. While it wasn't a bad choice of place to hide from a rampaging monster on the other side of the beach, Ichigo had a clear line of sight on them from where he was standing. Ichigo knew that the longer they stayed on the beach, the greater the chances that someone could die, and that if he wanted to get the wounded out of danger he'd need help. Sighing in frustration, Ichigo latched unto Yukari's shoulders with both hands and tried to shake her from her stupor, "Oi!" he shouted, gesturing to Tsukune's parents with a nod, "Yukari, get a hold of yourself! I need you to bring Koji and Kasumi here! I can't carry everyone by myself!"

It didn't work.

Gritting his teeth, Ichigo decided to take a chance. Leaving the wounded girls alone with Yukari for a moment, he broke into a dead run, making a B-line towards the elder Aono pair. "Koji, Kasumi!" Ichigo called out as he came to a stop beside them, and even as the words slipped from his lips, he knew things were worse than he feared. The aforementioned Aono matriarch was caught amidst inconsolable hysterics, and Koji wasn't too far behind her. They were so caught in their fear that the pair didn't seem to notice Ichigo's existence as he approached. Scowling, Ichigo shouted their names again, this time earning a sidelong glance from the patriarch of the Aono family. He hoped it was enough.

"Koji, we need to go," Ichigo ordered tersely, in a tone that commanded more authority of the situation than one his age should have been able to muster, "come on, we have to move the wounded."

"A-are you crazy?" Koji stammered, clearly just a step above delirious as he spoke, "that m-monster will kill us! We have to hide!"

"There isn't anywhere we can hide! I saw you as clear as crystal down by where that bomb went off, and so will that blue... _thing_... we have to get off this beach and go!" Ichigo's temper flared as he tried to reason with the older man, but the former shinigami managed to hold it in check in front of said older man's cowardice. Koji could only shake his head no, swallowing back a panicked yelp as he refused to see the reason behind Ichigo's words. So in response, the irritated teen did exactly what he wanted to do in the situation. He cold clocked Koji in the chin with a hard right hook.

"You idiot!" Ichigo snarled, towering over the sprawled Koji like a pillar, his self control well beyond it's limit on a good day, "your son is fighting that monster on his own, and you refuse to get yourself, and _his friends_ to safety? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Koji looked up stupidly at the orange haired teenager who had effortlessly knocked him on his ass, his mind completely and totally blank. Ichigo continued unabashed, "Let me tell you something. When someone's fighting to protect you, you, as the protected, owe it to the protector to keep yourself out of danger as much as possible. Your son is protecting all of us right now, and you _will_ quit cowering here behind this wall, and help get everyone to safety."

"You're right... what the hell _is_ wrong with me?" Koji managed to say as he got to his feet, his face set in a line of stubborn conviction, "what do we do?"

Ichigo nodded in reply, turning his attention to Kasumi. She was huddled against the corner of the small beach house, weeping to herself between haggard breathes. Quite obviously, all the short monologues or punches to the face in the world wouldn't help her think rationally at the moment. That made four bodies that had to be carried out between two able bodied individuals, and _maybe_ one half-coherent child. After a moment of contemplation, it was actually Koji that spoke up first, "actually, why don't we use the picnic tables?"

Jerking his head around, Ichigo had to admit it wasn't a bad idea. Arranged alongside the grills was a space designed to let revelers prepare and consume food in a comfortable environment. In addition to the smaller table with a smooth, counter-top like surface for preparing food was a pair of long, rectangular picnic tables set in two individual rows. The picnic tables were made of steel, perhaps aluminum, with bench seats attached directly to the thin metal rods that made up the table's support structure. If they could lift it along with four people, it would be perfect.

"It's worth a try," Ichigo agreed, gesturing for Koji to follow him as he made his way towards where the girls laid, stealing a split second glance to check on the progress of the battle. The Scraken monster was wielding it's sword now, and was missing most of it's quills. If the thick rivulets of blood and frayed flesh were any indication, it meant that Tsukune had plucked the quills free from the monster's back at some point in the fight.

Shaking his head to drive away the grizzly image, Ichigo knelt down next to the pink haired girl who was covered in burns of varying degrees of severity. The fiery haired boy fought down the bile rising in his throat as he laid eyes on the formerly vibrant Moka Akashiya. He'd seen people die many times during his days as as a substitute shinigami, and had seen many different hurts and wounds before that due to his father working a home clinic. This though... this was brutal on a level he'd only experienced a few times in his life. It was something that never got easier.

"If you can, try not to move their necks around, Koji," Ichigo instructed, recalling his father's instructions with regards to first aid for victims with potential head injuries. Where _was_ he, anyway? Ichigo shook off that train of thought, he couldn't think about his father showing up to save the day. He was the one these people were depending on, so _he_ had to stay focused, lest they pay the price, "take Mizore, she looks like she's in the worst shape. I'll get Moka and Kurumu."

"Are you sure?" Koji asked, uncertainly, "that's easily over a hundred kilograms, can you lift that much?"

"Easily," Ichigo said without hesitation as he hoisted Moka up with careful, practiced ease onto his left shoulder. He took as much care as possible to keep her from jerking, but knew that without something like a stretcher, he could only do so much. It was odd, Ichigo observed, that the girl's collar and crucifix pendant had survived the explosion when the rest of her clothes had been incinerated. An odd twist of fate, indeed, but it was something he could ponder another day.

Taking a few steps towards the blue haired girl, he was interrupted mid step when Kurumu groaned slowly and lifted her head in his direction. _She was regaining consciousness!_ Had he been someone else, he might have called it astonishing, or a miracle, but Ichigo was different. He had fought beings that could withstand punishment on a level beyond rational imagination, and survived punishment that no human had any business surviving. The idea that something could survive a land mine, albeit a powerful one, with only a few burns and a brief loss of consciousness wasn't amazing at all to him.

Didn't mean he wasn't happy to see it, though.

* * *

Haze. All around her, the world was a haze. All inside her mind, the world was a haze. It was as if someone had stolen away reality as Kurumu Kurono perceived it, and replaced it with nothing but a dark, hazy fog that she couldn't penetrate. Where was she? She didn't know. What was she doing? She didn't know that, either. All she knew, and vaguely at that, was that she was in pain. It was like someone had taken a club and beaten her along the entire front half of her body, especially in her arms, close to her wrists. It felt like hours, between that moment when she gained a slither of awareness that she was alive, and the moment that her eyelids slid open ever so slightly.

"W-wha..." Kurumu muttered senselessly, her vision blurring as she tried to push herself up into an upright position, before a new and greater wave of pain in her arms stopped her short and took her breath away. To her horror, she realized instantly that both of her arms were **broken**_._ _'How, though?'_ she wondered, _'the last thing I remember was Tsukune gathering us over on the side of the beach. He said he had to tell us something... but he was acting really weird. He said...'_

She paused as it came back to her. Tsukune told them he was in love with Moka, then that disc shaped object came hurtling up out of the ground. She had just enough time to jump away and shield her face before the flash of light knocked her unconscious. Did that mean the flash of light was so powerful that it broke _both_ of her arms on the spot? She was a high order monster, something like a land mine or a grenade should have hurt her, but not _this_ badly.

Using her legs, which she pleasantly found to be unbroken, Kurumu squirmed her way onto her knees and sat there for a moment, her head still spinning. _'This... do I have a concussion?'_ she questioned, as she focused her eyes on the moving lump in front of her. It took her a minute to realize that it was the orange haired boy who was on the trip with them. _'Ichigo was his name, wasn't it?'_

Only then did she realize he was speaking to her.

"Kurumu, can you hear me?" Ichigo asked again, his tone patient but firm. He had an odd expression on his face. She couldn't tell if he was afraid, angry, or something else entirely. She nodded at him, slowly. Her head hurt to move, but compared to her arms it was only a minor inconvenience. Something unreadable crossed the boy's eyes for an instant, and was gone just as quickly.

"Can you walk?" Ichigo questioned, his arm extended for her to use for support if she needed it.

"Y-yeah, I think so," she replied in a weak, raspy voice. She was only half aware of the beat red stretches of first degree burns along her chest, abdomen, waist, and thighs, thanks in part to the overwhelmingly distracting pain in both her forearms, and completely oblivious to the fact that her bathing suit was simply gone. Slowly, she rose to her feet, though her balance was shaky at best. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone will be alright, but we have to get out of here," Ichigo responded, reaching out to provide the still staggered girl support with his free hand by means of gently grasping unto her bicep, just below the shoulder.

"Where's Tsukune?" Kurumu rasped, her head still spinning far too much for her liking. She only narrowly remembered the rejection, and her mind was in such a tumult of emotion and confusion that all she wanted was something she loved to hold on to. After all, she loved him, didn't she? Kurumu winced, the haze hadn't completely left her mind yet, and the pain made it hard to focus.

"Tsukune's fighting the big blue guy who attacked us," Ichigo answered hesitantly, "we need to get you somewhere safe while he holds it off."

"What are you saying?" Kurumu echoed in disbelief, her eyes widening in surprise at the revelation, "we can't just stand here and leave him! We have to help Tsukune!"

"Absolutely not, you're in no shape to help anyone right now," Ichigo cried, his scowl deepening. He knew he should have lied to keep her calm, but he decided to tell the truth. Well, if he was going to be honest he might as well be completely honest. He continued, "we need to get you, Mizore, and Moka out of here just in case what Yukari said is true and he turns on us."

"Turns on us, what the hell are you saying?" Kurumu murmured, before realization dawned on her. _Tsukune_ was fighting a _monster_. After an explosion like that, it could only mean something had happened to the Holy Lock. Apprehension washed over Kurumu like a tide. She was scared, hurt, and confused. What would happen to Tsukune if the Holy Lock broke? Would he be able to stop the blue thing Ichigo was talking about by himself? If he did, would he come after them like Ichigo said he might?

_'Wait', _she thought to herself _'Ichigo said? He's human, why does he know this...? Wait, he said Yukari said it, that means she must have told him... but, wont she get in trouble if that's the case? Are things really that bad that she'd get humans involved?'_

As if on queue, that's when Kurumu noticed the body Ichigo was carrying. **Moka's** body.

"Moka!" Kurumu cried, tears forming in her eyes as she noticed the condition of her friend and rival. If the explosion had done that much damage to _her_, what would it have done to Kurumu if she hadn't been able to jump away at the last moment? "No! Moka!"

"She'll live, but we have to go now!" Ichigo implored, trying his best to sound confident in his assessment of the situation, "we have to get her to a hospital, and that goes for you, too! Now come on!"

Kurumu could just nod dumbly and go along with it, her mind was just too spent to resist, so she relied on the boy who seemed confident enough in the midst of this hell. Using Ichigo's hand for balance, she wobbled along as best she could, but the world just wouldn't stop spinning. As they walked, she became vaguely aware that Yukari was following behind them, but the blue haired succubus had no idea when she'd got there, let alone that the young witch had been standing within a few feet of her the entire time.

Suddenly, Kurumu felt her stomach lurch, but in a feat of willpower held off the sudden urge to vomit as they neared the picnic tables. Her distress must have been obvious, as it drew a concerned look from her orange haired benefactor, but she shook her head at his concern. Kurumu endured the pain and discomfort, and they arrived at the picnic table. Kurumu bit back a terrified wail upon seeing the state Mizore was in. If she was hurt, and Moka was seriously injured, Mizore was on death's door.

Ichigo left Kurumu for a moment, and gently set Moka down along the left bench opposite Mizore, whom had been sat on the right hand bench. Without Ichigo there to help her stand for that moment, Kurumu stumbled, and landed unceremoniously on her knees. Her group of friends from Yokai Academy had been in tough scrapes before, but they'd never been in a situation that was this bad. She trembled, from fear and from the growing cold that was wrapping around her like a glove. Myriads of feelings threatened to overwhelm her, and at that moment, the sweet bliss of unconsciousness seemed like a blessing.

* * *

"Shit," Ichigo swore, as Kurumu landed on her knees near the picnic table. Moving to her side, he cringed at what he saw. Cold sweat dripped down from her forehead, her skin that wasn't beat red from burns was becoming ashen, and she was swaying in and out of consciousness. Thanks to growing up in a medical clinic, Ichigo was able to recognize the symptoms immediately, and quietly promised himself he'd beat his father half to death for being so late in such a bad situation. Kurumu was going into shock.

"Stay with me, Kurumu," He said as he easily swept the injured succubus up off the ground, and placed her down on the table portion of the picnic table with the greatest of care that he could manage at the time. Frantically, he searched for an object to elevate her legs. The key to treating shock, Ichigo recalled from seeing his father treat the symptom in the past, was to elevate the legs so that they were positioned above the victim's heart, while maintaining calm in the victim and a steady body temperature. While far from a trained medic, this was something Ichigo could do.

Ichigo found his object in the form of the basket that Kasumi had used to carry their plates. Placing Kurumu's ankles beneath the basket, Ichigo used one of the two table clothes to cover her body in an effort to keep her from getting cold. With a forced smile, he said in a soft voice, "don't worry about a thing. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Kurumu offered no reply, and Ichigo knew he was running out of time. Casting a glance towards the Aono husband and wife, he noticed that Kasumi was walking. That was good. She was still terrified, but having someone they wouldn't have to carry would make this a lot easier. Easier was good, it meant they had a better chance to succeed, and success was what they wanted right now. Ichigo steeled himself, knowing that as fit as he was, this was still going to be a challenge.

When Ichigo used the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho, he lost his reiryoku and all of his shinigami powers. Despite this, he retained many of the benefits to his physical body he'd gained from his time as a reaper of souls. His reaction time and reflexes were still as sharp as the day he'd fought Aizen, putting them well beyond the absolute maximum a human was otherwise capable of, even if the rest of his body was too slow to react to what his mind perceived. His body was toned and conditioned to just below his peak as a human being, giving him strength and endurance approaching that of an Olympic track and field star. His motor memory and battle experience were as keen as they ever were, meaning that even if he couldn't wield a blade to mountain disintegrating efficiency anymore, he was still amongst the most skilled swordsmen in the world. Carrying a table with a few girls on it, at a weight that tallied up to a bit under three hundred pounds, with the help of another able bodied person was well within his capabilities, even if it wasn't going to be easy. Had it not been for balance issues, he could have probably done it himself.

"Yukari," Ichigo said in a stern tone, gaining the witch's attention instantly, "help Koji with his side, okay?"

Yukari nodded, not trusting her voice to answer vocally. Koji and Kasumi were standing on the north facing end of the table. Koji, with Yukari to help him, would be taking the leading end of the table, while Ichigo would be taking the heavier back end by himself. On the count of three, they hefted the table up a few inches off the ground. Together, the three of them walked the table, along with it's occupants, towards the _long_ flight of stairs that lead to the parking lot with Kasumi in front of them.

Walking up the stairs was tiring work for all parties involved. To his credit, Ichigo did his best to try and keep Kurumu's mind calm and occupied, but it was a vain effort given the backdrop. All of them were treated to an excellent view of the ongoing 'battle' between Tsukune and the Scraken creature. _'Both of them must have some kind of regeneration', _Ichigo thought to himself in passing, as one of Tsukune's savage clubbing blows happened to slice clean through the beasts thigh, before Tsukune himself was knocked clear by a swift punch to the head that looked like it should have flattened the much smaller boy into a gory pancake. _'If they don't have some kind of regeneration, there's no way they could still be fighting with the blows they're trading.' _As if in response, Ichigo noted the violent twist in the Scraken's flesh as a different wound on it's chest closed shut, evoking a deep frown on the former shinigami's face. _'Why does it __**always**_ _have to be regeneration?'_

After about five minutes, they made it to the parking lot. Yukari and Koji practically collapsed into a sitting position as soon as they sat the table down, gasping for air as their aching muscles yelled in ire at their owners for such treatment. Breathing heavily in his own right, Ichigo immediately set to work moving the girls into their vehicle, first Mizore, then Moka, and last Kurumu. Some time during the process, Yukari found herself in the car's front seat. It was going to be a crowded fit, but they would manage. They had to if they wanted to survive.

"Ichigo," Kurumu uttered softly as the orange haired boy hefted her up in his arms bridal style, carrying her towards the car, "why are you doing so much to help us?"

"I'm not such a selfish person that I wouldn't help someone just because I don't know them very well," Ichigo answered, his words echoing those he said to a certain raven haired shinigami what felt like a lifetime ago.

"No, not that," Kurumu whispered, shaking her head softly, "I mean, you've realized it, right? We're not like you, you're human. We're-"

"And I'm not narrow minded enough to not help someone because they're different, either," Ichigo interrupted, cutting off the train of thought as quickly as he could. Bending down, he gently sat her on the last unoccupied back seat of the seating-for-five sedan. Tears rolling down her eyes, the succubus could only shake her head.

"I don't know if I would do the same thing if I were you," Kurumu whispered to herself, half sobbing. It was the truth, she realized. If she were surrounded by a bunch of strange humans she didn't know, and they got hurt by some crazy monster she couldn't fight, she didn't know if she'd try to help them or just run away.

"Just rest now, everything's going to be fine," Ichigo said in a soft tone, trying to calm the increasingly upset girl. It wasn't something he was skilled at, and this kind of conversation wasn't one he was prepared for. Turning his head, he decided they had been here long enough. It was time to go. "Koji, come on!"

"I'm not leaving without my son!" Koji shot back, shaking his head, "I shamed him once today by abandoning him today, I'm not going to do it again!"

Ichigo closed his eyes, suppressing the frustration that was simmering back to the surface at the older man. He turned his attention to Kasumi, "fine, can you drive?"

"I-I think so," Kasumi said, her voice hoarse from sobbing, but distinctly more calm after getting to the parking lot, "but I don't want to leave Tsukune!"

"Damn it, if one of you doesn't drive them to the hospital, they could **die**!" Ichigo growled, his temper billowing back up despite his efforts to stay calm, "do you really think Tsukune would want to hear that his mother wouldn't help save his best friends lives because she wanted to stay and watch!"

Kasumi looked like she'd been slapped, but after a moment, she relented. Ichigo could only huff slightly, as Kasumi crossed towards the car and got in the driver's seat. Nodding at her, Ichigo retrieved the keys from Koji and brought them to Kasumi, who gave him the keys to her car in return. Nodding his head, he tossed the keys to Koji and simply said, "thanks."

Engine humming to life, Kasumi backed out of the parking place and shifted the car into drive. As she pressed down on the accelerator, a huge object flew out from the cove and into the air, landing with an asphalt shattering crash where she'd been parked just moments before. The impact was so great that man-sized chunks of broken blacktop and dirt flew into the air, opening massive cracks and sinkholes all over the parking lot. There on it's back lay the Scraken, badly wounded but alive as it clutched a wound on it's stomach with one hand, it's blade with another.

Pushing the pedal to the floor, Kasumi tried to flee as best she could, but was rewarded with a sudden jerk and the squeal of unmoving rubber on asphalt. Looking back in one her mirrors, she saw that the monster's impact on the blacktop had made opened a large hole directly in the path of her sedan, and in a stroke of bad luck she'd driven the back end of her vehicle right into it. Slamming the accelerator to the floor, Kasumi tried to escape, but to no avail. She was trapped in the middle of the parking lot, and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

"**Ugh, stupid ghoul...**" muttered the Scraken as it tried, and failed, to sit up. It's entire body was covered in wounds that it's regeneration hadn't been fast enough to heal yet, especially that one particularly large one in the middle of it's torso. That last blow had been something else. In a single kick, Tsukune had sent the Scraken flying into the air, literally high enough to plant him on top of the north facing of the cliff. He was going to be killed at the rate he was going, and that wasn't a prospect that sat well with him.

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed, as he noticed Koji wasn't standing in his line of sight anymore. He didn't have time to ponder where the man had gone as another shape came into view, soaring into the air from the beach below. In a single leap, Tsukune had cleared the cliff, and was barreling towards the Scraken on a direct course for it's chest with a crazed look in his eyes. He reached the apex of his leap, and almost seemed to hover ominously like a deadly bird of prey about to pounce on an helpless rodent.

Yet he was slow. Too slow.

There was nothing Ichigo could do to stop it, even though he saw it coming a mile away. His body was simply too slow, and too weak. The Scraken chambered his blade, positioning his arm for a picture perfect one handed stab as Tsukune began his descent. In his berserk rage, Tsukune made no effort to shift or evade as he came down towards the Scraken face first. In a text book thrust, the Scraken slammed the tip of his sword into Tsukune between his neck and collar bone. The combined force of the thrust and Tsukune's fall buried the sword inside Tsukune down to the hilt like a shish kebab, the point escaping out the boy's hip in a roman candle of blood. Amazingly, for a moment, Tsukune made to grab the Scraken with his blood soaked hands, but after a few seconds, he was still. Just like that, the battle was over. In that tiny mirror of time, Tsukune lost his life.

A chorus of screams rang out from Kasumi's car, the voices belonging to her, Yukari and Kurumu. Ichigo ground his teeth in rage. Knowing that there was nothing he could have done to help didn't make it any better. For Ichigo, knowing there was nothing he could do really only made it worse. Eyes darting from left to right, Ichigo's brain fought desperately to try and find a way, _any way_, to stop this monster.

His trained eyes noticed a glint of metal in a nearby patch of grass. Pacing over to it, Ichigo discovered a thin, four foot long segment of pipe that must have belonged to something installed beneath the parking lot, perhaps plumbing or electrical cables. Ichigo didn't have time or the will to examine it to find out. Taking the pipe in hand, Ichigo held the length of metal like a sword and rushed towards the Scraken, just as the beast removed Tsukune's body from his own weapon with a sickening lurch.

The Scraken saw Ichigo coming and was slow to react, partially from injury, and partially because the orange haired boy was quite obviously human, and therefor not a threat. Swinging his sword in a lazy arch, the Scraken aimed to hit Ichigo in the shoulder and end his resistance on the spot, by way of bisecting the foolish human. Ichigo noticed the pathetically unskilled swing instantly, and corrected his movements accordingly. In a sudden jerk, Ichigo ducked the blow, lifting his pipe in an upwards thrust from his crouched position. With a good deal of force, Ichigo slammed steel into the blue behemoth's wrist, and was rewarded with a satisfying crunch. The creature was strong, and it could regenerate, but apparently it wasn't that much more durable than he was.

Yelping in pain and surprise, the Scraken dropped his blade and stumbled backwards, away from the orange haired boy who'd struck him. Leaving the surprised and confused monster no time to react, Ichigo tossed the metal pipe directly at the creature's face, where it connected with a high pitched tang of hollowed metal on a hard object. Wasting no time, Ichigo reached down and took the copper-colored, blood stained sword that the monster had dropped in hand. It was a heavy, but he didn't have time to care.

"**Bastard, give me back my sword!**" the Scraken yelled in rage, lurching forward towards Ichigo like an enraged boulder. Now, though, he wasn't facing a crazed berserker. He was facing a skilled fighter who was in his element. A fighter who wanted him dead.

Side stepping to the left, Ichigo ducked one of the giant's grubby paws as it reached out to grasp the boy in it's strong grip, and was treated to a sharp pain running up it's arm as Ichigo lashed out with the blood soaked sword. In a single thrust, Ichigo drove the point of the blade into the ligament just above the monster's elbow, and in a show of skill, changed the direction of the stroke and cut outward away from the elbow, severing the ligament and opening the wound in a single fluid motion. Leaping backwards, Ichigo avoided a smashing blow that would have most certainly have killed him from the Scraken's other, uninjured fist. Chunks and bits of stone and asphalt shot into the air, one of which connected with Ichigo's forehead, sending him sprawling onto his back. In an instant, the monstrous beast was on top of him, and hefted him into the air with a painful squeeze, forcing Ichigo to drop the monster's sword.

"**You're good, human,**" the beast growled, as it tossed Ichigo into the back windshield of Kasumi's car, "**I'll have you know I'm under orders not to kill any humans who don't interfere. But no, you just had to go and stick your nose where it didn't belong!**"

Ichigo groaned, keenly aware that the shattered glass of the vehicle had opened more than a few cuts on his exposed back. He didn't have time to think about it, though. The beast already had taken it's copper colored sword from the ground and was aiming it at his neck. Ichigo winced, fighting back the bitter part of his mind that thought it was ironic that after doing battle against shinigami captains, going to war with the Espada, and saving the world from Aizen, he was going to be killed by an overgrown sea urchin with arms and legs.

The sound of an engine gunning to his right, towards the inside of the parking lot banished thought thoughts.

"I'll take you back to hell, demon!" Koji roared from the driver's seat of the vehicle Kasumi and her troop had used to reach the beach that day, a blue sedan of the same make as the red one he'd been given for the trip. He had spun the car around to the opposite side of the parking lot, and was on a collision course with the Scraken, already going forty miles per hour. With a loud crash of steel on flesh, the sedan collided with the Scraken's open back and kept going. The unstoppable chariot of death soared off the side of the cliff, the Scraken pinned helplessly to it's front bumper. The blue monster's cry of fear and anger was only drowned out by the louder cry of rage and victory of the car's driver, as both plummeted to the ground below.

Then, a crash, and... boom.

The ensuing plume of fire was barely enough to drown the wail of grief and horror that escaped from Kasumi's throat. Ichigo barely noticed. He was too stunned from what just happened to do anything but stare at the billowing wisps of flame as they danced up from the beach that had taken the lives of both Aono men that day. Rising to his knees on the back of the car, Ichigo managed a bitter scream towards the sky in anger and defeat. There was nothing he could do to save either of them, and it made him sick.

* * *

**Soulborn School of Scintillating Subjects and Supernatural Species**

_Serving scholarly sentients in superb submissions of salient specification!_

* * *

_Scraken:_ The Scraken is a relative of the troll, genetically engineered by way of magic to have the best qualities of land trolls, mixed with several choice advantages by their creators. Bred by a sect of dwarves called the Menehune to act as hunter-killers, these trolls have the ability to breathe underwater, rapidly regenerate from wounds, and barbed spines that carry a potent toxin that attacks a victim's nervous system, causing paralysis. They are typically armed with a single close quarters weapon, such as a sword or trident, and utilize _Monster Seeking Mines_ created by their masters to hunt down and eliminate monstrous entities that come to their shores without their explicit authorization. Scrakens take perverse pleasure in doing what they're bred to do, and often do so with a measure of brutality that most sentient creatures would find disgusting.

Oh, and for those of you who don't do the metric system, a hundred kilograms is about two hundred twenty pounds! As a rule of thumb, you can convert the two by either dividing pounds by 2.2, or multiplying kilograms by the same number. I chose to have Koji use metrics because that's what they use in Japan. Gotta try and stay authentic, yo!

* * *

_Next time on Soulborn: Sable Foil -_ _Isshin finally arrives, late to the party, only to find several wounded young ladies, a fainted housewife, his own son wounded, and unable to do much besides stare at the still smoldering grave of Koji Aono. But when a certain ice-woman's wounds prove to be so dangerous as to leave her precious minutes from death's door, will the magical item of a witch wielded by a shinigami be enough to save her?_


	7. Chapter 6

_It's Thursday here in the world of Last Seraph, which means it's time for an update for Soulborn! I must admit, I'm impressed with you guys. Over 1,700 hits, 15 favorites, and 9 reviews in a week was a lot more than I expected. Maybe I should go on unforeseen breaks more often? _

_Just kidding, just kidding. _

_We're approaching the end of the first volume of Soulborn, which should appear in about two chapters. As it stands, I intend for Sable Foil to consist of five volumes, though I may decide to extend that number to six at the rate my outline is expanding. When we do reach the end of the first volume, though, I intend to give you reader's a nice little treat to mark the occasion. What that treat is... is well... a surprise! _

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.

I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.

Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.

This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Chapter 6**: Small Victories

* * *

"What the hell happened here?" Echoed Isshin Kurosaki in a low whisper, a feeling of cold dread growing in the pit of his gut. Up until just a moment ago, the father and single parent of the Kurosaki family had been enjoying a fine day in Honolulu with his little girls, Karin and Yuzu. Sure, they were supposed to have met up with Ichigo and the other group of people for some function at a private beach, but Isshin scoffed at such a preplanned notion. No, he was going to get some quality time with his two youngest children, and his depressed, brooding son was going to enjoy a quality afternoon in the company of three _lovely_ young ladies at a beach. He might put on a silly front for people, and indeed Isshin's sense of humor was rather slapstick, but the man was most certainly no fool. He felt that for an adolescent male Ichigo's age, having to hang out with his father and little sisters amidst such a... how would Kon have put it? _'Bountiful garden'_ would have only muddled what could have been a rather _eventful_ afternoon for the young man.

Besides that ulterior motive, Isshin had been confident in his sensing abilities to tell him if something dangerous was approaching Ichigo, so the shinigami became complacent in his skills. That, he now realized had been his first mistake. Isshin had only focused on Ichigo's presence, and then only so much so that he would know whether or not the boy was injured, or in the presence of a spiritually advanced creature such as a hollow or shinigami. Because of that, Isshin's senses never picked up on the presence of the Scraken, as the monster's spiritual presence was so pitifully miniscule that it didn't even register on his passive spiritual perception. It wasn't until Ichigo was physically wounded by the Scraken that he had realized something was even wrong.

Isshin's second mistake had been allowing Ichigo to remove his protective charm after the end of the White Invasion. He had agreed to Ichigo's choice only because in Karakura Town, the patrols of shinigami were so active and robust that no hollows were able to get even a few steps out of a garganta before they had someone on them. As such, he had felt it was rather pointless for his son to continue wearing the charm. Isshin reluctantly relented, and because of this he had to get to the other side of the island the hard way, via shunpo.

When Isshin arrived, he was already too late. Whatever had happened was already over and done with. Ichigo was pretty banged up, he instantly recognized. Slouched on his knees before the front of the cliff, his injured child stared blankly out at the smoking remains of the rental car that had ended their attacker's life. It was as if he was hypnotized by the destruction down below, a thought that made Isshin's heart sink. It was the same dumb look on the boy's face he'd had when he had been forced to step between his boy, and the traitor during the last battle of the White Invasion. To top it off, his injuries were serious. A few broken ribs, a nasty welt on his forehead, and several shallow lacerations lined his back. But compared to some of the others, his son was in relatively good shape.

The ones worst off were clearly Tsukune and Koji, as they were dead. That was simply all there was to it with that one. What irritated Isshin about the fact that they were dead was that he could only sense Koji's soul nearby. Neither whatever attacked them, nor that kid Tsukune's soul were presently in the area, or within the boundaries of his senses. It confounded and irritated the shinigami, but he had bigger concerns to worry about than a lost soul.

The lavender haired girl that had been on the trip with them, Mizore, was dying. Isshin wasn't sure how she had been reduced to the state she was in, or what it meant, but his senses knew what someone who was dying felt like. He had no doubt in his mind that this girl was going to die if he didn't get her some kind of help **now**. The pink haired girl, Moka, wasn't fairing that much better. She wasn't about to die on the spot like Mizore, but she had sustained heavy wounds. Isshin reasoned that if she didn't receive adequate care soon, there was a chance that as time passed, she could be a goner just as easily.

As just about anyone would suspect, everyone else who was conscious and able to move was either hysterical or in a state of shock. The blue haired girl, Kurumu, was passed out in the back seat, and if Isshin had to wager a guess, was in shock from her injuries. Koji's wife, Kasumi, was passed out, fainted in the driver's seat of the car she'd most definitely tried to flee in, and the brown haired little girl with the strange outfit was hovering over Tsukune's body, weeping softly.

Isshin sighed. He felt guilty that he hadn't been there to stop whoever had attacked them. Yet he knew right now, that he didn't have the luxury of time to feel guilty. He had to take care of business, or people were going to die. While he was a shinigami, Isshin also happened to be a doctor. Right now, though, he was going to be a doctor who also happened to be a shinigami.

_'Come hell or high water, I'm __**going**_ _to save their lives!'_

Moving swiftly to a place where he had clear view of the injured, Isshin drew Engetsu and slammed it into the ground, embedding the blade halfway into the ground. Raising his arms, the shinigami brought both limbs over the hilt of his blade in a perfect horizontal line, forming an awkward, disemboweled shape between himself and his zanpakuto that strongly resembled an 'h'. Isshin began to chant, summoning up a mass of spiritual energy that's pressure sent visible fluctuations through the atmosphere.

_**"Heavenly serpent, raise high tide..."**_

It was a kido spell that was forbidden to teach anyone who's skill was beneath a certain level. Technically counted amongst the Bakudo, the unique spell was often utilized by skilled members of Fourth Division, or the Kido Corps. It was rare for someone outside of those groups to even learn this spell, let alone be able to use it as well as Isshin could. In the known reaches of Soul Society, the only two individuals who knew this technique and could perform it better than he were Retsu Unohana and Hachigen Ushoda.

_**"float the surface, expose, divide..."**_

Why it was forbidden to teach to general practitioners of kido was actually a rather simple matter. When used, the spell required the user to divide the flow of their spiritual pressure evenly between whatever creatures were caught within the barrier, so that the distribution of energy was even. If the flow was divided incorrectly, it would cause feedback that had the potential to be fatal to both the bound and the binder.

_**"grace to the haunted, serenity to the damned..."**_

In addition to binding the affected parties in place by way of freezing their muscle control, the kido had a number of useful features that made it an excellent tool. With a bit of concentration, the caster could focus their spiritual energy in the exact same manner that one uses a standard healing kido, in essence allowing them to simultaneously heal every bound target at the same time. The only reason why Retsu and Hachigen didn't use the spell more often was because their innate abilities were superior.

_**"peace be to the faithless! Stay thy hand! Bakudo #94: Wa ataeru seikatsu!"**_

The effect was immediate and dramatic. Emanating from the buried mass of Engetsu's blade came a flourish of glowing green energy, that swept over the parking lot in the blink of an eye. In seconds, the churning tide of viridian magic solidified into a flat, perfectly smooth plane resting upon the ground in a circular shape. From it, a small lump of the energy mound up beneath where Kurumu, Mizore, Moka, and Ichigo were each at rest. In an instant, a multitude of serpent-like tendrils of energy burst out of the mounds, completely ignoring whatever barriers of metal, glass, and plastic that existed between them and their target to wrap around each of them. Once firmly in control of their bodies, the coiling serpents coalesced into thin bubbles of light that hung around each of them like a nimbus.

The connection established, Isshin immediately set to work channeling his spiritual energy into them. Ichigo, as he suspected, was healed of his wounds almost instantly because of his lack of spiritual energy. Kurumu and Moka took longer to recover from their wounds, but like Ichigo, they were both totally restored in less than a minute, which allowed Isshin to drop the spell effect on them and focus entirely on Mizore.

Perhaps it was because of the... odd nature of her wound, or simply the extent of the damage, but Mizore's wounds simply were more difficult to repair than the others. What surprised Isshin, though, was that as he healed her, the severed limbs she'd lost in whatever calamity that had befallen them _grew back_ – which was something that the 94th bakudo was not normally capable of. Under different circumstances, this would have fascinated Isshin professionally, but now was not the time. In all, it took about five minutes to repair the full extent of the damage.

After he released the channeling of his spiritual pressure, two things happened. First was Ichigo, who had been fully aware of what was happening to his body, jerked his head back and forth, desperately trying to find the source of his temporary paralysis. Second was Yukari, who on the other hand, immediately turned her gaze towards the very spot in which it originated.

"H-how...?" Yukari stammered out, visibly terrified by what was apparently in front of her, "you're human... I know you are. How did you u-use magic?"

_'Can't even tell the difference between the living and the dead, can she?'_ Isshin pondered to himself, as he retrieved Engetsu with a sigh and returned it to it's saya. He'd known that these girls had some level of spiritual awareness, but the spiritual pressure they each gave off was criminally weak. There was something odd about it, sure, but he could sense for certain that each of them had less pressure coming from them than a typical unseated shinigami. _Karin_ gave off more pressure than each of them except the brown haired pipsqueak did at this point.

Isshin was open minded enough to realize that just because their pressure was weak, didn't necessarily mean that they weren't dangerous, though. Yet despite this open mindedness, he had relaxed his guard. It seemed, to Isshin, that these individuals, regardless of what they were, had nothing else in mind than to have fun on vacation. Had their attitudes not come off as so harmless, he might have been more inclined to be more diligent in using his senses to keep track of them. The realization that he had made such presumptions so easily about an unknown entity was a painful sting to Isshin's pride.

So when Isshin turned to look at the young witch Yukari, his expression was uncharacteristically somber. "No, I'm not human young lady. What I am can wait, though. I need you to tell me what happened here."

Yukari shook her head, and spoke in barely above a whisper, "a monster attacked us. His dad drove a car into it, and the car blew them both up."

Isshin didn't need to ask for clarifications, he could tell what she was talking about well enough. Deciding not to push the young girl, Isshin used shunpo to appear down on the smoldering mess of a beach below. Isshin didn't like doing it, but someone had to be responsible for letting those who had departed pass on. With no other shinigami apparently in the area, it was his task to commit konso on Koji and Tsukune. All he had to do was find them.

* * *

Smoke and heat dominated the senses of Koji Aono. He had just drove a car straight off a cliff at over forty miles per hour, using it like a battering ram to drive a terrible monster to it's death. He had been flung from the crash on the moment of impact, through the windshield by the fireball he suspected. _'Why am I still alive?'_ Koji thought to himself as he laid on the sand, staring at the sky, _'and... why is this damn chain sticking to my chest?'_

Sitting up, Koji examined the chain that was connected to the center of his chest. It was strange, resembling an exaggerated form of a choke chain used by some people to restrain their pets, though his wasn't connected to anything like a collar, this was apparently fused to his very body. Going over the links, the man noticed, to his displeasure and confusion, that the end of the chain was broken.

"No!" Koji cursed, casting the chain aside, and falling onto his back as he drew a haggard breath, "why! Why am I alive!"

Time stopped being much of a measure as Koji laid there, staring up into the sky from behind his tearful, bloodshot eyes. His last act, some would have called heroic. He gave up his life to save his wife, and several young people from dying at the hands of that strange blue monster. That wasn't the truth, though. Heroism had nothing to do with it.

For Koji, killing the Scraken had been about two things. Foremost, obviously, was revenge for the murder of his son, Tsukune. Anyone within earshot of the conflict could have probably guessed that. What wasn't quite so obvious was the second, and more subtle reason. In reality, the act of driving the car off the cliff had been just as much about suicide as avenging his son.

If Koji had really wanted to, he could have easily left the driver's door open and flung himself from the vehicle after it hit the Scraken. There was enough space between the cliff and the monster for him to survive, albeit with a number of scrapes and broken bones. Koji simply didn't want to. The moment the father was forced to witness his son being skewered cleanly on the point of a sword in such a brutal and unforgiving way, all sanity left the Aono patriarch. In that moment of total irrationality, all Koji wanted to do was end his life. He just happened to have an easily accessible way to do it. Yet to Koji, it seemed as if even that death had been denied him.

The defeated man was so distraught that he didn't even notice that after a few moments, he was no longer alone on the beach.

"You're not alive," called out the voice, "I can assure you, you're rather quite dead."

Koji heard the voice clearly, but didn't bother responding. No, Koji preferred to stare up at the sky, defying the voice and it's claims of his demise. Unless it brought his Tsukune back to him right there, he was going to keep denying the entire world. Sanity, it appeared, wasn't something that could return so quickly.

"Poor man, no father should ever have to witness what you did," the voice said sadly as it neared, a sound of metal sliding upon a surface ringing out along with it like a ghostly echo. "For what it's worth, I truly hope you're able to meet up with your son in Soul Society."

Koji still refused to draw his eyes away fro the sky. He barely noticed the butt of a katana come into his line of vision and press against his forehead. Then, before he knew what was happening, he was unable to see any more. All that was, was light.

"Good bye, Koji Aono."

* * *

For the next five minutes, Isshin spent his time going over the area with a fine toothed comb. Yet no matter what he did, he simply could _not_ find the soul of Tsukune Aono. The sheer amount of spirit energy he had shot into the atmosphere when he'd used the 94th bakudo made it harder to sense things in the immediate vicinity, but Isshin was undeterred. He'd found that strange blue thing he estimated was their attacker, presumed it to be some form of exotic hollow, and dealt with it on the spot. It hadn't even put up resistance as Isshin crushed it to it's second death with his spiritual pressure alone. No, that problem had been solved about thirty seconds after he finished performing konso on Koji. Now, Isshin was at a loss.

He could guarantee that Tsukune Aono had died. He'd seen the body, there was no soul in it. Yet at the same time, he would have given his personal guarantee that the soul of Tsukune Aono was _not_ on the island, and that he was the only shinigami presently on O'ahu. It was impossible that some other shinigami had beat him to doing the konso. What's more, he couldn't sense any hollows anywhere, so unless that blue thing had ate his soul, he was still out there somewhere.

Isshin decided he'd send an inquiry to Soul Society as soon as he was able. He wouldn't be surprised if they simply ignored the inquiry, especially with their current case load, but the last time Soul Society decided to sweep news of some disappearing souls under the rug, it got them Aizen. While Isshin knew that the traitor captain was safely locked away forever unless someone with the power to do so deliberately set him free, (and only the royal shinigami he'd sought to kill and displace had that power) this event stunk of the same brand of foul play that the would-be usurper was famous for.

When he returned to the parking lot, Isshin immediately knew something was wrong. Ichigo was frantically doing... something... to one of the girls in the back seat of the car. Knowing damn well that Ichigo would sooner remove an offending limb than take advantage of a wounded, unconscious woman, he knew that there had been complications with one of the girls that his kido had not repaired. Using shunpo, Isshin appeared behind his son and peered over the unaware boy's shoulder. What he saw caused his eyes to widen.

The wounds of the lavender haired girl, Mizore, were gradually returning.

"Sorry, Ichigo!" Isshin whispered as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and pushed him aside, sending the surprised boy onto the ground with an unceremonious plop. Channeling spiritual energy, Isshin sent healing pressure into the girl and found that the wound repaired almost immediately. Frowning, he removed his glowing palm from her person and noted, to his growing displeasure, that the wounds he had just healed were slowly starting to return. Closing his eyes, Isshin expanded his senses and focused them directly on the girl. It didn't take him long to figure out what was wrong.

"Is that, poison?" Isshin asked himself, his eyes snapping open as he looked on towards the girl in confusion and disbelief. Curious, Isshin decided to check the other two wounded young women and found them to be in the same condition. Whatever had caused these wounds was not only explosive, but it was laced with some kind of toxin, or similarly insidious substance that made wounds reopen after they were healed! It was like the mine was made by that lunatic clown who was in charge of 12th division these days.

"_This is outside my area of expertise,"_ Isshin admitted to himself, _"I don't know enough about their physiologies to try and treat this. All I can do is delay it at best."_

"I know you can hear me!" Ichigo said as he stood up, looking towards Mizore, "I know you just healed her, but you can't do anything about it either, can you?"

Isshin nodded in understanding. He and Ichigo had developed a few systems for if they ever needed to communicate while he was in spirit form. Reaching out, the shinigami tapped the surface of the car door once. For this mode of communication, one tap signified the answer was no, two taps signified yes, three signified he didn't know, and four signified the question couldn't be answered yes or no. They had a few methods that worked better, but at the moment they lacked a pad of paper and pen for Isshin to write upon. So for better or for worse, this would have to work.

"I'll ask Yukari if she can do anything," Ichigo suggested, "she said she could help Tsukune when we were attacked, maybe she can do something about this."

Turning, Ichigo walked over to Yukari, who was still weeping over Tsukune's body. Slowly he reached out, and put a hand on her shoulder. He wouldn't have been afraid to admit that he was torn. Part of Ichigo wanted to respect her privacy and let her mourn in whatever way she wanted, but he knew that if she might be able to help the other three girls, he had to pull her away. Another part of him wanted try and wisp the child away from the gruesome sight of Tsukune's mutilated form. No child should have to have that burned into their mind.

"Yukari," Ichigo said softly, "I'm sorry... but your friends need you now."

That got her attention. Turning to face Ichigo, the trembling young girl's expression was alarmingly neutral. It wasn't what Ichigo expected. She was still crying, but her expression didn't look like someone who was crying. It was closer to someone who was... bored? The child nodded wordlessly and stood up, falling in line beside Ichigo. He could hear her stifle a sniffle or a sob every so often, but it seemed, to Ichigo at least, like she was trying to keep calm.

Isshin simply shook his head. _He_ knew that wasn't an expression of boredom. The girl's spirit was broken, and she was so shell shocked by the sudden events that she simply didn't know what to do in the situation. So she followed, and she cried. The shinigami knew the poor girl would need years of counseling to recover from this. All of the girls would, he suspected. If they survived, at least.

"They're poisoned," Isshin explained simply, getting Yukari's attention. The child nodded at him, and he continued, "I can heal them, but whatever this poison is, it causes their wounds to return soon after I'm done. Do you have any way to help them?"

Yukari turned her attention to the back seat of the car and let out a ragged sob. She shook her head, and said in a faint, shaky voice, "I've heard of this... someone I know told me about a forbidden poison that some witches use. It makes wounds continuously re-open if any kind of healing magic is used to close them. I don't have the knowledge to get rid of it myself."

Yukari's eyes drifted, by chance finding their gaze resting softly on Ichigo's flank, just above his oblique. She noticed that a red mark was beginning to form, and said, her tone emotionless, "you were exposed, too." Following Yukari's eyes, Ichigo looked down and stared at the growing red mark just below his rib cage. He was only hearing half of the conversation, but he could put together the pieces well enough to realize that this was very, very bad for him. Yukari continued, "all of us probably got a dose from being around the wreckage of the explosion, but I didn't get hurt, so nothing will happen to me. You and everyone else will need the antidote, though, or you'll..."

The girl couldn't finish her sentence, and finally broke down again, collapsing to her knees in defeat as she wailed. Ichigo's eyes widened, and Isshin frowned. They were in a situation where they only had one course of action, and that was to get this antidote. _Pronto. _If they didn't, then Moka, Mizore, Kurumu, and Ichigo could be joining Tsukune. As far as the the fiery haired former shinigami was concerned, he had absolutely no desire to find himself back in Soul Society so soon. To him, failure wasn't an option.

"Where can we find the antidote, Yukari?" Isshin asked, in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

Yukari shook her head, and managed to squeak out between sobs, "the Academy has some, I think, but that's thousands of miles from here."

Isshin audibly swore.

"Can you open a senkaimon and use Soul Society to bring us all there?" Ichigo asked, guessing at what Isshin had asked.

A single loud thunk indicated that the answer was clearly no.

"If... Kurumu or Moka was awake," Yukari said softly, "I could use the magic item we borrowed to bring us there. I can't activate it by myself, it requires at least two people to use."

While they were unaware of it, both Isshin and Ichigo asked at once, "where is it?"

* * *

Yukari had never moved that fast in her life. When Isshin had picked her up and used shunpo to take them back to the hotel where they were staying, Yukari's mind was effectively blown. While many understood that the basic principle of shunpo revolved around making the user cover more ground in less steps at higher speed, few who were unfamiliar with the technique understood exactly what mechanism the technique used to do it. After experiencing it once, Yukari decided that the nature of the technique was going to remain a mystery to her, because she never, _ever_ wanted to move that fast again.

So of course, after they retrieved the object they were looking for, Isshin promptly used shunpo to bring them back. Yukari was not amused at being subject to supersonic movement so many times in quick succession, but Isshin didn't have the patience to care what she thought. Time wasn't on their side, and every minute they spent without the antidote for the poison was a minute closer everyone back at the parking lot was to death. He'd done konso once today, and he had no desire to have to do it again. Especially on his own son.

Landing on the parking lot with a gentle swish, Isshin stepped out of shunpo and found things much as he'd left them. Ichigo was moving back and forth between the three unconscious girls, doing his best to try and treat their wounds as they re-opened, while Kasumi was still unconscious. Isshin couldn't help but smile slightly at what he was witnessing. Despite how quickly the situation was falling apart, despite the fact that his own life was in danger, despite the fact that his own wounds were starting to slowly re-open, and despite the fact that his own thoughts and feelings were probably in turmoil – his son had the mental fortitude to cast aside his own distress and do what he could for the others in the midst of the metaphorical storm. It made the shinigami's heart swell with pride.

"You've grown, haven't you, Ichigo?" Isshin muttered quietly as he sat Yukari down in the parking lot. In her hands was the magic item that they had borrowed from a person Yukari had identified as Ruby, a girl who worked at the academy where the girls lived and went to school. At roughly the size of a dinner plate, the object resembled a round loop, with seven equilateral triangles, each a different color of the rainbow, laid on top of each other in a slightly off alignment. When held, the triangles rotated slowly, each at a slightly different velocity than the others.

From the way Yukari had put it, the 'borrowing' was probably done in bad faith, and involved some measure of deception or blackmail. That was merely Isshin's assumption, though. The object used a power source that Yukari had identified as 'youki', which once described to Isshin, strongly resembled the spiritual power that shinigami used in principle. When activated, the object opened a portal that could be then aimed towards a desired place, and used as a door way between where the portal was opened and the desired destination. Yes, there had to be some measure of deception involved, Isshin thought. Why else would someone let a group of teenagers off with such a potentially dangerous item?

"How do you turn it on?" Isshin asked the girl, crossing his arms in impatience. He disliked being serious for this long, especially when it meant he might be having to leave his daughter's with a mod soul for any length of time.

"I'll take one side, and my partner will take the opposite," Yukari answered in a shaky voice, "we channel youki into the item, and state our destination. The portal opens, and then we walk through."

"Sounds simple enough..." Isshin stated flatly, as he took an object out of his pocket and handed it to the girl. It was a small stone with a few odd symbols stitched into it. The symbols resembled kanji, but if they were, they weren't any that she'd ever seen before. Looking up, the girl gave him a questioning look. Isshin sighed, and said, "I'll be able to track you with that charm. My daughters are here on the island, and I can't just leave them here by themselves, in another country. I'll follow you via senkaimon after I've made certain that they're in place where I can leave them alone for a little while."

Accepting his explanation without word or gesture, Yukari waited as Isshin gathered the girls together and sat them down on the asphalt. The young witch had no idea what a senkaimon was supposed to be, or how he would follow them with it, but she had no desire to question him. Questioning him implied thinking about something, and Yukari didn't want to think right now if she could avoid it.

Meanwhile, Ichigo stood next to the girls after Isshin laid them down in formation, and spent his time trying to minimize the impact of the resurrecting wounds as best he could. His own pain was starting to catch up to him though, as his movements were becoming more and more strained with each passing moment. Ichigo's wounds made it impossible for him to even attempt another stunt like with the picnic table, and Isshin wasn't following them through the portal. That meant that the responsibility of carrying the wounded through the portal fell to Yukari and her magic wand.

Yukari had long since retrieved her magic wand, which, to her horror, she had found laying in the midst of some debris in the parking lot. In the confusion, she hadn't even realized that by all rights, it should have been destroyed, as it had been resting in the car Koji had drove over the cliff. In a stroke of dumb luck, the wand must have somehow found its way out of the car before Koji drove it off the cliff. She had no idea how it got there, but she wasn't one to question small victories of fate.

"Wait a minute," Ichigo said, casting a sidelong glance towards Kasumi Aono, who still laid untouched where she'd fainted, unconscious. He asked, "what about her, aren't we taking her with us?"

Isshin shook his head, and stomped the ground once. _No, they were not._

"What the hell do you mean, no?" Ichigo cried, staring at the spot just above where Isshin had stomped with a fierce glare, presuming it was where his father stood.

"W-we can't bring her with us," Yukari answered cautiously, "humans aren't allowed to go to the Academy. It's place where monsters can find sanctuary from the human world."

"What?" Ichigo echoed, disbelievingly, at the glaring flaw in her logic, "then why am I being allowed to go?"

"What do you mean?" Yukari asked, clearly confused, "your father said himself that he isn't human, why shouldn't we let you in?"

Isshin sighed in irritation, and flared his spiritual pressure, just enough to shut his son up through an acute case of paralysis. It didn't take much pressure to paralyze a person without any sizable measures of spiritual pressure through exposure, and the method of doing so had aided many shinigami several times in the past. Right now, Isshin was thankful that his son didn't have his previously inane amounts of spirit energy. They didn't have time to be arguing about why's and hows.

"We'll let the local authorities take care of her," Isshin declared, wondering just how long it was going to take for them to get here. It's not like that fireball had been _**small**_. "Yukari, start up your device, I'll help you."

Yukari held up the magical object as Isshin ordered, and the shinigami took hold of the artifact on the opposite side as she'd told him. Yukari's eyes widened in shock upon feeling the sheer, overwhelming amount of power flowing into the object from the black robed man. Looking up, she eyed the man with something that was akin to awe, fear, and confusion at once.

"_Just what __**are**__ these people?"_ Yukari thought to herself as she stared blankly, earning her a curious glance from the shinigami. Shrugging it off, Yukari set to work. With her left hand clutching the device, Yukari raised her outstretched right hand and placed it above the artifact, palm side towards it. A tiny, pea sized orb of swirling lavender and red began to coalesce between the witch and the magical item, as she cried out the name of the place she desired to go.

In a flash, a swirling, flat oval of constantly shifting shades of lavender and crimson warped into existence just to the group's immediate left. A sheer vertical plane, the portal itself was about five feet across and eight feet tall, hovering just about six inches from the ground itself. The surface of the gateway was impossibly flat, as if it was simply drawn into the air as is. If one looked past the otherworldly nature of the gateway and the oddity of the portal's geometry, it was actually a rather unimpressive sight.

Isshin nodded his approval, releasing his side of the artifact and turning away from the group. He said, "I'll be with you as quickly as I can. Remember, girl, their lives are in your hands. Take good care of them."

Yukari gave only a shallow nod in reply. Lifting her magic wand, Yukari channeled youki into the object and used it's power to gently levitate Moka, Kurumu, and Mizore. Basic feats of telekinesis such as this were no problem for Yukari. Even in her diminished mental state from everything that had happened, she could concentrate enough to manage this. Her affection for Moka was well known, but deep down, Yukari didn't want to see any of them really, truly get hurt. It was that small part of Yukari Sendo that was keeping her going at that moment, even though every ounce of her wanted to fall, to curl up into a ball and reject the harsh reality that had come to exist in her little world.

* * *

The young women, and a few seconds afterwords, Ichigo, silently passed through the portal without sight or signal to announce their departure. A few brief seconds later, the portal itself faded into oblivion, and Isshin disappeared to address the situation with his daughters. After a few minutes, as if on queue, the loud shriek of sirens that signified the inevitable arrival of the police and fire departments rang out through the air. There, they'd find a lone foreign woman, caked in soot and apparently delirious, muttering something incoherently in her mother tongue that amounted to, 'monsters killed my husband... monsters killed my baby!'

For a pair of onlookers on a distant, overlooking cliff, it was a rather pathetic scene.

"I can't believe we escaped that shinigami's search unscathed!" One uttered in a high pitched, sneering voice to the other. Dressed in red, hooded robes that covered his entire body from head to toe, the man resembled a monk, or priest of some nondescript esoteric order. He was tall, much taller than his companion, standing between seven and eight feet in height. His form, albeit hidden beneath his robes, was quite obviously thin to the point of being nearly skeletal. Only the tips of his fingers were not concealed from view, though the sharp, armored digits were closer to claws than anything else.

"We knew what we were getting into when we took this job, there was always a possibility that one could intervene," his much shorter companion answered in a rich, suave voice that practically dripped of pretentiousness. Dressed in red robes that matched those of his companion, the shorter of the two truly was short. At less than four and a half feet tall, he was short enough to be considered a dwarf. His visible hands appeared gnarled and leathery, as if they belonged to one who had toiled endlessly with his hands through what one could only assume was a very long life. "That's the very reason we set up the barrier before we had the Hunter Killer dispatched. To prepare for such possibilities."

"Please!" The taller of the two scoffed, "if that shinigami hadn't used such a tremendously powerful spell to heal those little monsters, I'm certain he would have detected us. The only thing that saved us was the fact that he released so much spiritual pressure into the atmosphere that it masked your little barrier."

"Be that as it may, we wouldn't have survived at all without it," the shorter one replied, turning away from his companion and to a small black briefcase that sat at his side. He chuckled, reaching down to lift it up carefully. "Besides, even if we lost the Hunter Killer in the end, the mission was a success."

"One certain teenage boy, dead, and his soul harvested as proof of the deed," the taller man cooed approvingly as the shorter man opened the briefcase, revealing a small black gem that glistened with a barely perceptible lavender aura. "Our client will be pleased."

"Frankly, I'll just be glad to end business with strange bat," the shorter man chided, "anyone who runs around in a big, dark cloak to disguise their identity is just too creepy to be around, don't you think?"

"You do realize we both wear big, dark cloaks to disguise our identity, right?" The taller man deadpanned.

"We do not!" He countered indignantly, "we wear stylish, red cloaks! There's a huge difference!"

"Whatever, let's just get out of here," the taller man hissed, "I want to make contact with the client so we can get our money, and move on with our lives."

Wordlessly the shorter man agreed, and instantaneously the both of them vanished. It was as if they were never there.

* * *

Ichigo had seen many sights in his short life, indeed, more than many people see in a lifetime. He'd walked the desert of Hueco Mundo, meditated in the Dangai, and done battle on Executioner's Hill. So upon arriving at the blank wasteland that surrounded Youkai Academy, he was hardly impressed. Dominated by dead, rocky soil coming out into jagged cliffs over a sea of red, and a forest of lifeless, bare trees, the atmosphere of the place seemed designed to unsettle those who gazed upon it. To Ichigo, had the ambiance not felt so overwhelmingly presumptuous, it might have worked. To one who'd experienced real horrors in the realm of hollows, however, the environment was almost comical.

The portal had dropped the four academy students, plus Ichigo, near the bus stop where students arriving and leaving the Academy were let off or picked up, respectively. The fact that the marker of the stop was dressed up like a scarecrow, with a jack-o-lantern for a head was an oddity that was lost on Ichigo for the moment. His ribs had just begun the process of slowly but surely re-breaking themselves, and the pain from such was great enough to where it was all the former shinigami could do to stay standing, and not pass out.

Mustering up the determination to try and speak through the pain, Ichigo was about to pose a question to Yukari about what they did next, when he became aware of six men, dressed in the black garb of a Catholic priest surrounding them. Although dressed to appear as clergymen, the six tempered the outfit with black sunglasses, like a mix of a holy man and a bad secret agent cliché. Eying the men warily, Ichigo was mildly aware of the strange sensation of being watched, and it wasn't coming from the wanna-be spies.

"I know you're there," Ichigo demanded in a hoarse, forced voice, "show yourself!"

A man, dressed in the pure white robes, and matching klobuk veil of an eastern catholic bishop slipped into view, out from behind large tree. His features, all but lost beneath the clerical garments that disguised his form, appeared distinctly human. Yet there was something beneath the surface, hiding in obscurity beneath those robes. Something mysterious, perhaps even more than human. Only the lower half of his face was visible, beneath the cowl of his veil. It revealed an expression of deadly seriousness, one that did not appear amused at being present here at the moment.

"Well, isn't this a surprise?" Echoed the words of the Headmaster of Youkai Academy, "what is the famous Ichigo Kurosaki, savior of the White Invasion, doing here at my school, together with four of my students?"

Ichigo didn't have an opportunity to answer. The first of his ribs to break had just broken completely, and the spasm of pain that came with it was too much for his already overwhelmed mind to take. Losing his balance, the fiery haired warrior fell to his stomach, and merciful darkness enveloped him as he fell unconscious.

* * *

**Soulborn School of Scintillating Subjects and Supernatural Species**

Serving scholarly sentients in superb submissions of salient specification!

Bakudo 94 – Wa ataeru seikatsu (輪与える生活): Translates to 'life giving ring'. Also used as 'Wa shibari komu seikatsu (輪縛り込む生活)', or life binding ring (lit. ring life restraints). A bakudo spell originally designed to bind multiple enemies in place so that another ally can attack them while the caster holds the enemy in place, or as a desperation move, overload the balance of spiritual pressure between the bound and the binder as a powerful suicide attack. The healing variant of the spell was designed and developed after the spell was initially created, and has since become a much more widely practiced variant of the bakudo than it's original, restraining form. The life giving ring form of Bakudo 94 is so much more well known compared to it's binding form that many who know of the spell but cannot perform it are unaware of it's intended function and name. Can only be used by shinigami with both captain level spiritual energy, and skilled control over their spiritual pressure. Is relatively ineffective if the foe can use their spirit energy to create more pressure than the the binder, and therefor despite being a powerful binding technique, it is usually passed over for either lower grade sealing techniques that are easier to perform, or more reliable techniques, such as Bakudo 99.

* * *

_Next time on Soulborn: Sable Foil – Ichigo collapses, only to find himself awakened in another place strongly resembling a hospital room. There he meets a new face, and is taken to see the Headmaster. What happened to Kurumu, Mizore, and Moka, and what will come of the meeting between Ichigo and the Headmaster. Plus, when will Isshin arrive?_


	8. Chapter 7

_I've got to stop being so hard on myself and just write. I think I redid this chapter from scratch at least a hundred times over the past few months, but I never really liked it. After so long without an update, I decided that I had to post **something**, and thus, here we are. Hopefully, further chapters wont be so... difficult._

_P.S.: I made a mistake in regards to the way Tenmei's helpers were dressed in chapter 6. I have since gone back and corrected it. _

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.

I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.

Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.

This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

Chapter 7: Bygone dreams

* * *

Dark. Such was the hall in which two shadows walked. Garbed in robes of crimson, the pair stepped softly across a floor of polished stone. Wide was this hall, so much so that the passing silhouettes, one taller than most men, and one as small as a child, were dwarfed like rats atop a freight train. Smooth walls of smokey obsidian flanked them on either side, lit sporadically by orange embers from far too few torches to properly cover the imposing passageway. So huge was this corridor that, when paired with it's poor lighting, no living man or woman could possibly grasp it's ceiling within their gaze.

Silence reigned for the pair, interrupted only by their own footfalls as they made their way down the hallway with practiced ease. Even if the hall was cast entirely into unlit oblivion, they would have been able to make their way to their destination. They knew where they were going. Moments begot moments for either cloaked shadow, until their trek lead them to a massive, iron bound double-door.

"I, Esper, servant of the Scarlet Throne, have arrived," intoned the smaller of the two, as he pressed a single, leathery hand flat against the cool surface of the iron bound door.

"I, Chimera, servant of the Scarlet Throne, have arrived," echoed his taller counterpart, who mirrored his partner's gesture. A low rumble echoed in response to the ritual actions of the two. Stone ground upon stone, and steel slid across steel as chains inexplicably rose out from the shadows towards the dark void above. Slowly, the way parted inward, and the great blockade of stone and metal gave way to reveal a vast, lone room beyond the door.

An infinitesimally fluorescent gray marble floor, cut into thousands of matching tiles, stretched out before the arrivals. Rising out from the marble were wicked columns of barbed steel, evenly spaced about the room is four rows of forty, and at least as wide as a grown man is tall. The sound of a sluggishly flowing liquid sloshed and dripped in the background, and the scent of rusted metal emanated from the darkness beyond the columns of steel. Both of the ones garbed in crimson robes understood exactly what the paired sensations assaulting their perception implied. Neither bothered to vocalize to the other that they understood, for such observations were meaningless.

If one had asked them, they would simply have stated that it was obvious that you would find fountains of blood in the presence of the Scarlet Throne.

"Esper, Chimera," A rumbling, hollowed voice called out from the far side of the room, "approach."

Thus it was so. The pair of crimson robed shadows swept across the dimly lit chamber, only to kneel before a large raised dais at the far side of the room. Built from obsidian, the platform was cut into five steps, each gilded with cross sections of sharp steel along it's edges like razor blades. Atop the dais was a seat, styled in the manner of the thrones of ancient Europe, and carved from a single, massive ruby.

Sitting upon the gemstone throne was a man, or at least a facsimile of a man, dressed in robes of crimson identical to the pair kneeling before his dais. Oversized, flowing sleeves disguised the creature's arms and hands, and a wide, open hood concealed his face. Only a pair of glowing, white slits gave any indication that there was indeed a being beneath the robes at all. The pair breathed easily in their prostrate position before the dais, as they waited for some signal from the creature above.

"Now," it spoke after a moment of silence, "relay unto me the tale of your accomplishments in the human world."

"Yes, master," The shorter figure, Esper, said with an even tone born from confidence in his actions, "the deed you tasked of us in the human territory of Hawaii is done. The boy from the human nation of Japan arrived with his family, as you predicted. However, he was... under guard, by a group of four Youkai."

From that point, the taller of the two, Chimera, continued their report. "We utilized an explosive Monster-Seeker lined with blood-venom to disable his guardians, and a Scraken hunter-killer to finish the work. The boy transformed into a ghoul, but ultimately was no match for the Scraken in his crazed, berserker state. In the end, interference from other humans in the area lead to the loss of the hunter-killer, but the soul you commanded us to retrieve is now in your possession."

Producing the briefcase at his side, the robed dwarf Esper opened the receptacle with his old, withered hands to reveal it's contents; a single, black jewel that emanated a lavender incandescence within the darkness of the chamber.

"You've done well, both of you," the being upon the dais rumbled in a pleased tone, "the appearance of Youkai was unforeseen. Our client told us nothing of the presence of such in the day to day activities of the target. Given the circumstances, the loss of a single hunter-killer is well within the boundaries of acceptable casualties. More may always be made. Yet still, I am curious..."

"Of what, Master?" Asked the taller of the pair, raising his head from it's bowed position to gaze upon the being it addressed as lord.

"Our client only told us that the target was a boy from the human nation of Japan, vacationing upon the island of Hawaii," the white-eyed entity explained, rising from his seat at the throne and slowly descending the dais towards his subjects, "we were given knowledge unto which flight he would arrive upon, that he would be with his family... with such vague depictions... I cannot help but question whether or not this was indeed the soul they sought to have removed."

"My, you are rather perceptive, Lord Soifra," cried a new voice, airy and whimsical, from behind one of the steel columns in the distance. Out from behind the column came another, garbed in black robes with naught visible but a plain, featureless white mask to hide the stranger's face. "I can tell from the aura emitted by the crystal from as far as here that your agents struck down the wrong child. I must say I'm disappointed. Has the Scarlet Throne fallen so far that it is unable to live up to it's boasts, or is telling the difference between two teenage human males that look completely different outside their ken?"

The being, so-called Soifra, narrowed it's glowing-white eyes in anger at the newcomer's words. In a casual motion, he raised a single arm towards the man in black robes. A baseline hum was the only warning given, as a lance of invisible telepathic energy shot towards the masked man. Catching him completely off guard, the shockwave knocked him into the air and impaled him against one of the many protruding spikes from the chamber's steel columns.

"I do not take kindly to those that waste my time with games, sorcerer!" Soifra hissed, a palpable aura of malice shedding from his body like waves from stone dropped in a still pond.

"I would think not," was the reply of the apparent _'sorcerer', _his very body bursting into black flames, before he appeared beside Soifra, untouched by the outburst of the being in crimson robes, "and all jokes aside, I do apologize for the vague account of the target, but we believed it was necessary. My employers did not wish for you and your people to be burdened with the knowledge of whom it was you were acting against. That another child his age would arrive on the same flight was an unfortunate coincidence that we were not prepared for."

"Fool, did you expect us to reject the contract from fear of mere knowledge of our victim's identity?" Soifra growled venomously, "for such an insult, I should kill you where you stand."

"Now now, if you were to kill me, you wouldn't receive the agreed upon payment from my employers," the Sorcerer said conversationally, as if stating a harmless fact, "and without that payment, how would you ever manage to usurp _them?_"

This gave the being with white-eyes pause. Whatever this payment was, whoever _'they'_ were, it was enough for him to reconsider his actions towards the masked man that had mislead them before. Turning towards the sorcerer, Soifra addressed him in a more composed, but no-nonsense manner, "My price is now doubled, sorcerer. There will be no more games. You **will** tell us everything we need to know to assassinate the target properly, and you **will** explain to your employers the cause of delay was due to your own negligence."

The masked man nodded graciously, "of course, Lord Soifra. For one such as yourself, I'm certain you needn't know much than this to know what your next course of action should be, so I will be brief."

For Esper and Chimera, they could have sworn that despite the mask, they could feel the sorcerer's grin as the next few words escaped his lips.

"Your target for assassination is, and was always named, Ichigo Kurosaki."

* * *

_'These events are your responsibility, Ms. Tojo. As such, you will act as **his** guardian until such a time comes that I tell you that you are relieved. You must not fail in this. If he were to not recover while in our care, before we know for certain what transpired on the other side of the portal, I fear a tragedy of monumental proportions will fall upon us all.'_

For Ruby Tojo, a day that had started rather pleasantly had morphed into a nightmare. Against her better judgment, she had lent Yukari Sendo a magical item that would allow her to transport herself, and a number of passengers of her choosing, to the location of an individual at large a few days prior. She knew why she'd asked to use it, nor had Ruby seen any harm in allowing her to borrow such an object. She suspected that the other girls from the Newspaper Club would end up going along, too - and not just because Yukari would have required help to activate the device. Her only regret at the time was that she couldn't break away from the work assigned to her by Tenmei Mikogami during the reconstruction to go along. Now, though, she had more regrets than she cared to count, not the least of which was that she wasn't there to save them.

She didn't have time to dwell upon those regrets right now though. Even now, those four were still in danger. Only Yukari was conscious, but the child had done nothing but stare into space since her return to the Academy. Meanwhile, Moka, Mizore, and Kurumu were being attended to by a small army of specialists from various branches of the school staff, and even a small number of experts from elsewhere called specifically to help in treatment. During this crisis, Ruby had been given the task of watching over the orange haired boy who had arrived with them until his presence could be addressed by the Headmaster directly.

All of the injured had been taken to individual rooms, which were actually classrooms that had been commandeered on the fly for use as operating rooms for each of the wounded, as the still-remodeling academy lacked anything approaching the appropriate facilities for such intensive care in its current state. One member of the faculty had briefly floated the idea of transporting them somewhere else for treatment, but the suggestion was quickly squashed. They simply didn't have the time to move them to a more appropriate venue, and still save their lives.

She didn't know who this Ichigo Kurosaki was, or why he was important. She knew he was human, but she had no idea why the Headmaster had placed such a high priority on his individual safety. It was as if the Headmaster feared some great calamity would fall upon them all if he failed to recover.

His treatment for the poison, called blood-venom, was fairly textbook, in both application and result. It was only through luck that the grounds still had the materials to administer it, though. Blood-venom was a complex substance, made from a base that combined boiled components of vampire, werewolf, and troll blood. Once the base was made, it was laced with a cocktail of mundane toxins, and enchanted into a deadly brew that was a almost universally forbidden. Even simply mixing blood-venom was considered an offense worthy of death in the world of monsters. Fortunately for everyone involved, creating it's antidote was not.

Common treatment for blood-venom exposure was the application of a human-made anticoagulant called warfarin, along with the application of magic to reverse the enchantment that bound the different substances together as a single toxin. The disenchanting process, along with the chemicals contained in the blood thinner, would react together to separate and destroy the toxins in one fell swoop. It wasn't a difficult process, yet even as early as a half century ago, the toxin had no treatment. Application of the toxin in the near past had been almost universally fatal when paired with even a relatively minor wound.

Looking down at the unconscious young man, Ruby's thoughts drifted towards another certain young human. The girls of the Newspaper Club were visiting Tsukune on his vacation, that much she knew. If this level of injury had befallen them, and an uninvolved human had been caught in the middle, what had happened to their vacationing classmate? Was he hurt? _'No...'_, she thought. '_If he had been hurt, they would have brought Tsukune back through the portal for treatment, right?'_

She couldn't shake a lingering doubt in the back of her mind, though, that something terrible had happened.

* * *

_Heavy... so heavy. It was as if an omnipresent weight was bearing down upon each and every part of his body at once. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. All he could do was watch, and gaze at the sight before him. _

_In every sense of the word, he was helpless. _

_The lone silhouette of a woman looked back at him. Bodies, the beaten forms of people he knew laid at her feet. They were his comrades, his **friends**, and they had put themselves between the woman and him in an effort to stop her. Yet they could not harm her. No... saying they could not harm her would be incorrect. In truth, they had refused to harm her. In their refusal, they had paid the price. _

"_Ne... Kurosaki..." the woman whispered, in a low voice, full of affection, even as blood still dripped down her hands, "let's go, Kurosaki."_

_Instantly, she was in front of him, her hands leaving blood stained trails where she had caressed his cheek with the very tips of her fingers. Auburn locks of hair cascaded down as she knelt before the him, her clothes tattered and torn from the obvious violence she had wrought. Looking down upon him, the blood soaked woman giggled, as if enjoying a private joke._

"_Let's go, together!"_

_He tried to scream, but in his paralyzed state, all he could do was stare._

* * *

Ruby was broken from her worries as her human charge jolted upright, and let out a scream of pure, primal terror. Alarmed at his sudden action, Ruby rushed to his side. Even with magic being employed, his wounds had only begun to heal. The sudden rise in his posture from laying to sitting up could easily re-injure a purebred _vampire_, let alone a human. She had to restrain him long enough for the orange haired adolescent to regain his senses – or at least to be sedated.

At his side, Ruby forced Ichigo back into a prone position on his bed – which in reality was little more than a desk with a pillow and some blankets used for padding. Holding the young man down by his shoulders to stop him from thrashing, Ruby was surprised at the raw strength possessed by the young man. Indeed, it wasn't anything remarkable as far as Youkai were concerned – a strong human was still weaker than a weak monster – but even with his injuries, the force he could bring to bare was impressive, for a human.

Brown eyes made contact with magenta, as Ichigo finally became aware of his surroundings. A single bead of sweat dripped down his brow, and he shut his mouth with an audible click, _'That same dream, again...'_ he thought to himself, as he gained his bearings. Noting the strange magenta-eyed girl pinning him to the desk and staring at him as if he was the fourth zero on a repair bill for her new car, Ichigo's thoughts quickly shifted, _'...but more importantly, where am I, and who is this girl in the weird costume?"_

"It's good to see you're taking your duties seriously, Ms. Tojo, but I believe there is no further need for you to hold Mr. Kurosaki down," came the voice of a slightly amused Tenmei Mikogami, now standing in the doorway to the makeshift hospital room.

Standing up quickly, Ruby flushed slightly from embarrassment. There had been something there, in the boy's eyes. Something she could not readily identify. When their eyes met, there had been a spark of recognition, like a rabbit becoming aware of the presence of a predator. It was passive, buried deeply, but Ruby Tojo vaguely understood the dangerous edge she had felt when she had met his gaze.

"If you would be so kind, Ms. Tojo, please go assist with the treatment of our injured young ladies," the Headmaster continued in a measured, calm tone, "I would like to speak with Mr. Kurosaki privately about the events that lead him to our grounds."

"O-of course, Headmaster," Ruby said, surprised, but relieved by her sudden dismissal from the room. Briskly, she made way for the door, and slipped past the Headmaster into the hall without another word.

"Please do not mind Ruby," Tenmei offered, noting the growing confusion on the orange-haired boy's face, "she has had a long and difficult day, being rude was not her intention."

Ichigo hesitantly shook his head. Very little of what was going on made any sense to him. The last thing he remembered, he was on a beach... that was when it hit him. The explosion, the blue monster, the Aono kid and his father's death, the poison, and the portal. Everything came back to him at once. Closing his eyes and sighing, Ichigo let his confusion give way to a frustrated resignation.

"Do not worry about the young ladies you came through the gateway with either, I can assure you that all of them will survive and should make a full recovery," the Headmaster explained as he crossed the distance from the doorway towards the desk, "we were in luck that you were able to get through when you did, though, or Ms. Shirayuki would likely have been lost to us."

There was a pause, as the implications of the Headmaster's words hung in the air. Shaking his head to clear the morbid thoughts away, Ichigo asked, "where am I?"

"You could think of this place as a pocket dimension of sorts, though that description would not be entirely accurate," the Headmaster told him, "we now dwell within a place called Youkai Academy, a school for monsters and other beings humans would call 'supernatural'. Here they gain an education, and learn to coexist with humankind in the world at large."

"A school, huh?" Ichigo replied thoughtfully. If someone had asked him his impression of what he'd be told, he would have said it seemed like something out of a fantasy manga, but he realized that the same description could be made about many of the things in his life.

"Yes, but that isn't exactly important right now," the Headmaster said, "please, Ichigo Kurosaki, could you explain to me precisely why, and how you arrived with four gravely injured students of my school?"

The shift in tone of the Headmaster's voice was barely perceptible, but it was there. The implied suspicion, a subtle edge of possible hostility... this man, or approximation of a man, would have no qualms about unceremoniously ending Ichigo's life right here on the spot if given cause.

Taking as deep a breath he could take with his injured ribs to collect himself, Ichigo steeled his nerves. He'd done nothing wrong, and had nothing to hide. He'd tell the priest everything he wanted to know. All he could do was hope that this 'Headmaster' was only trying to protect the interest of his students, and wasn't looking for an excuse to do him injury.

* * *

"How are they doing?" Asked one Ruby Tojo, who had just only arrived in one of the rooms in which the four girls from the Newspaper Club were being treated. She had been greeted by a man in the black formal garb of a Catholic priest, who's eyes were obscured by shades - one of the Headmaster's personal servants, she knew from experience.

"The treatments are over, all we can do for them now is wait while they rest," the man reported tersely, "the Sendo girl still hasn't said a word to anyone. Whatever happened over there, it was enough to turn her into a mute. She'll probably need to see some kind of psychologist before all of this is through. That or receive memory alteration."

Ruby's eyes widened. Memory alteration was possible with magic, but was only ever suggested in the most extreme cases of psychological damage. For this man to even suggest such a thing was –

"Do we know what happened to them?" Ruby asked in a quick, desperate tone. Her nagging fear over the circumstance was quickly blossoming into much deeper dread.

"Calm down," the man in black ordered bluntly, "that's what the Headmaster left to find out by talking to our... guest."

Swallowing hard, Ruby nodded. She'd have to trust the Headmaster to handle this. It wasn't like she had a choice in the matter, anyway. Even if she wanted to question the human herself, she wasn't in a position to try and usurp the Headmaster's authority on the matter.

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but her response quickly died as on the far side of the room, a sudden flash of light dominated the room. Emanating from an object that had been taken from Yukari Sendo's possession during her medical check, the intensity of the light grew steadily, until it faded almost instantaneously. In it's wake, a certain shihakusho wearing man near where the stone had once laid was revealed.

He did not look amused.

"Now, then," Isshin said calmly, his gaze shifting from person to person throughout the commandeered classroom, "I want you to take me to my son."

* * *

"...and after we came through the portal, I passed out," Ichigo said, finishing his account of what had happened on the Hawaiian beach. His version of events had been blunt and to the point. He hadn't enjoyed reliving the events so soon after they'd originally transpired. That this _'Headmaster' _had seen fit to interrogate him the moment he regained consciousness was definitely not a plus in favor for younger of the two Kurosaki men, but at least he'd allowed him to finish his explanation without interruption or harassment.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he _was_ injured.

"I have just one question for you, Mr. Kurosaki," the Headmaster stated, after mulling over Ichigo's words for a moment, "when the creature appeared, why didn't you use your powers as a shinigami to kill it?"

Ichigo looked at the Headmaster as if he'd grown a second head. He recalled the man had distinctly referred to him as the 'savior of the White Invasion'. Did that mean that he didn't know that in order to stop Aizen, he had to give up his shinigami powers?

_'Wait, how does he know about any of that, anyway?'_ Ichigo thought to himself, _'this guy may not be human, but he's obviously not dead!'_

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" the Headmaster asked, a bit put off by the odd way Ichigo was staring at him.

"A-ah, no... it's just that, at the end of the battle, I had to give up my powers as a shinigami to stop Aizen..." Ichigo explained, awkwardly, "it's... not something I want to talk about."

"Is that so?" the Headmaster asked in a mysterious tone, "I'll respect your privacy, in that case. I thank you for your cooperation. Ichigo Kurosaki. And, on behalf of my students, I thank you for the risk you placed on yourself to help them."

Ichigo look startled, and asked, "w-wait... you believe me? Just like that? Why?"

The Headmaster smiled enigmatically, and said, "I do, but, it's not something I want to talk about."

Ichigo couldn't help it. He gaped like a fish.

Turning away, the Headmaster added, "when your father get's here, make sure to tell him that I'd like the both of you to pay me a visit before you take your leave of here. There are a few important matters we need to discuss in regards to the day's events. Until then, good day, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo couldn't help but scowl at the Headmaster's exit, _'Somehow,'_ he thought to himself, _'that bastard reminds me of Hat-and-Clogs...'_


End file.
